Cousins in Common: The Rathbuns

Are there even more cousins that David and I are both related to? Yep. I don’t find this surprising anymore. Interesting, you bet. Even fascinating. But not surprising. I wouldn’t be surprised to find coincidences like this and line-crossings in the family trees of many couples.

So which cousins in common am I talking about today?

Norton Galard Rathbun (1838-1919) was my first cousin five times removed. Norton's parents were Saxton Squire Rathbun (1813-1895) and Barbara Elizabeth Huss Rathbun (1816-1894). You can see their gravestone in Bakertown Cemetery, Clyde, Ohio, just below. Norton’s maternal grandparents were Noah Jacob Huss (1790-1843) and Mary Burkholder Huss (1789-1849). You can see Noah and Mary's gravestones in the same cemetery about three-quarters of the way through this previous post. Noah and Mary were my five times great-grandparents through my paternal grandmother’s line.

Gravestone of Saxton Rathbun and Barbara Huss Rathbun.

On Christmas Day of 1865 in Sandusky County, Ohio, cousin Norton married Elizabeth E. Hufford (1842-1926). Elizabeth was David Maxine’s second cousin five times removed. Her great-grandparents were Christian Hoffart (1716-1788) and his second wife Anna Catherine Vogel Hoffart (1715-abt 1807). Christian and his first wife, Elizabeth Keim (1723-abt 1763), were the six times great grandparents of David through his paternal grandmother’s line.

The marriage of Norton Galard Rathbun and Elizabeth E. Hufford Rathbun means that all their descendants are cousins to both David and me. Not that they had a great number of descendants. Norton and Elizabeth had three sons, Edward Carlyle Rathbun (1867-1942), Arthur F. Rathbun (1869-1965), and Herman W. Rathbun (b 1867). Edward had two sons, Irvin Noah Rathbun (1899-1988) and Alan Edward Rathbun (1906-1993). Irvin and Alan had seven children between them, seven great-grandchildren of Norton and Elizabeth Rathbun. One, maybe two, of those didn’t make it to adulthood. None of the remaining five has had any children that I can find so far. All of those offspring are cousins David and I have in common.

Dorothy M. Sherrard Rathbun, 1936.

At one point I thought I might find another family connection though one of these common cousins. Alan Edward Rathbun (1906-1993), grandson of Norton Galard Rathbun, married Dorothy Marguerite Sherrard (1910-1994) in Canton, Stark County, Ohio, in 1936. Since my father has had relatives in Stark County, Ohio, for nearly two hundred years, I wondered whether Dorothy Sherrard was connected to me through another line. But I can’t find that she is.

But there is another family connection among these Rathbuns, David, and me. That connection turns these family lines into one big circle.

A while back I posted here about David's and my cousins in common the Colgrove sisters—Victoria Marie “Vikki” Colgrove Young and Rebecca Louise “Becki” Colgrove Siler. They're related to David through the ancestor they share with him: David F. Sellers (1845-1927). So, like David, they're related to Elizabeth E. Hufford Rathbun through David F. Sellers's maternal line.

I’m related to Vikki and Becki through our common great-great-grandfather Matti Juhonpoika Uhmusberg Hietanen (1857-1915), a line going through my mother. But it's through my father that I’m related to Norton Galard Rathbun, so Vikki and Becki aren’t related to Norton, too, just to Norton's wife, Elizabeth.

But just as David and I are related to all Norton and Elizabeth Rathbun’s descendants, so are Vikki and Becki.

Is that too confusing?

It’s easier to visualize, so I’ve created a chart. The names in red are cousins in common. I didn’t want to make the chart any more complicated than it is, so I didn’t put in the children of brothers Irvin and Alan Rathbun--although those children are also cousins in common with both David and me. If you trace the main course of the lines and ignore the offshoots to the red names, you can see that it’s actually a closed loop.

Cousins in Common: The Rathbuns Chart. As with all images on this blog, click it to see a larger version.

Cousins in Common: Vikki Young and Becki Siler

When I wrote an earlier blog post called “Cousins in Common, Featuring Nathaniel Bartlett,” I didn’t know that Cousins in Common would become a series of posts. But David and I stumbled across a second instance of relatives that we share, so here’s a second Cousins in Common post—and I already know this one won’t be the last.

As I wrote in the first Cousins in Common entry, one of the factors that first got me interested in family genealogy was to see whether my partner David Maxine and I might have a common ancestor. So far, unless one believes I'm descended from the early Stewarts of the Scottish royal family—I wrote about that possibility here, but it will probably remain just that, a possibility—I haven’t found any common ancestors. What I have found are more cousins that we share, people—like Nathaniel Bartlett (1722-1802) and his descendants—who are related both to David and to me, but who don't make us blood relations to one another.

Information about David's father's family has long been fragmentary, but his unanticipated discovery of some Miller cousins last summer, as David wrote in this post a couple weeks ago, helped him put together many of the stray puzzle pieces. That was the bridge he'd been searching for.

In the center sit David F. Sellers (1845-1927) and Caroline Lower Sellers (1853-1923), great-great-grandparents of David Maxine, with their eldest daughters flanking them. On the right sits David's great-grandmother, Nora Belle Sellers Miller (1873-1948). On the left sits, very likely, David's great-great-aunt, Eva May Sellers Montgomery (1871-1935).

David learned that his great-great-grandparents, David F. Sellers (1845-1927) and Caroline “Anna” Lower Sellers (1853-1923), lived in Seneca County, Ohio. The mention of Seneca County rang a bell for me. Many of my paternal grandmother’s relatives lived in southern Sandusky County, Ohio, in the towns of Clyde and Green Springs, just across the border from Seneca County. I thought it was quite possible that some Sellers relative of David's from Seneca County could have married one of my Hawk, Huss, or Rathbun relatives from Sandusky County. So we started searching for information on the Sellers family.

David F. and Caroline Sellers had nine children, but only five daughters survived past childhood. Their second daughter, Nora Belle Sellers Miller (1873-1948), was David Maxine’s great-grandmother. She married Edward Nelson Miller (1868-1950) in 1890. The Millers lived for awhile in Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio, then moved to Willow River, Minnesota. Nora Belle Sellers Miller and Edward Miller are both buried in Jamestown, Stutsman County, North Dakota. No connection to my family there, as far as I know.

David's paternal grandmother Fern Naomi Miller Maxine (1890-1945) stands between her parents Edward Nelson Miller (1868-1950) and Nora Belle Sellers Miller (1873-1948), David's great-grandparents.

Nora Belle Sellers’s three younger sisters who survived past childhood seemed to have remained in Seneca County. At least, they’re all buried there. So none of them seemed to offer promising leads.

But the eldest sister, Eva May Sellers Montgomery (1871-1935), was a different story. She took a path in life that neither David nor I expected. Eva May and Chester A. Montgomery (1869-1926), after marrying in Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio, moved to Willoughby, Lake County, Ohio. Eva May spent her last days in the home of one of her daughters in Painesville, Lake County, Ohio, and is buried in Painesville’s Evergreen Cemetery.

When David mentioned Evergreen Cemetery, it more than rang a bell, it set me on high alert. Dozens of my relatives, including both my parents, are from Lake County, Ohio. Many relatives of mine are buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Painesville. There had to be a Lake County connection between our families.

David found the names of the spouses of Eva May’s daughters and I began trying to match them to names on my family tree. Bingo! Eva May’s daughter Mabel A. Montgomery (1902-1951) married Clyde Robert Colgrove (1893-1986). I had Colgroves in my family tree on my mother’s side. This surprised me, since I’d been initially expecting to find the match on my father’s side. But the connection wasn’t proven yet.

I went to the internet, looking for evidence to link my Colgroves to David’s. I found posts from another genealogical researcher named Vikki Young who was also searching for Colgrove information. The name Vikki spelled with two Ks seemed strangely familiar, but it took me a little while to recognize Vikki Young as someone I was already aware of—my Colgrove third cousin Victoria Marie “Vikki” Colgrove Young. She and I had been separately exchanging information with a third family researcher, all three of us cousins.

Vikki has a sister Becki, and I managed to trace the ancestral line from them back to David F. Sellers, their great-great-great-grandfather on their father’s side, making Vikki and Becki third cousins once removed to David Maxine.

My great-great-grandparents with some of their children in 1897. Clockwise from top left: Matti Juhonpoika Uhmusberg Hietanen (1859-1915), Selma Marie Hietanen Filppi (1892-1978), Aliisa Elviira "Ella" Hietanen Quiggle (1894-1950), Liisa Kristiina Herttua Hietanen (1861-1943), Juho Tauno "John" Hietanen (1897-1973), Santra Aliina "Lena" Hietanen Krause (1896-1976).

I already knew that Vikki and Becki are my third cousins on their mother’s side. Our mutual ancestors are our great-great-grandparents Matti Juhonpoika Uhmusberg Hietanen (1859-1915) and Liisa Kristiina Herttua Hietanen (1861-1943), who emigrated from Isokyro, Finland. Matti arrived in the USA on June 16, 1887, and it seems that Liisa and their two sons arrived later on July 5, 1890. The eldest son was Matti Hietanen Jr. (1883-1921), my great-grandfather, whose death I wrote a post about here. Matti Sr. and Liisa’s first child born in Fairport Harbor, Lake County, Ohio, where they settled, was daughter Selma Marie Hietanen Filppi (1892-1978), the great-grandmother of Victoria Marie “Vikki” Colgrove Young and her sister Rebecca Louise “Becki” Colgrove Siler.

Matti Jr.'s sister, Selma M. Hietanen Filppi.

Matti Hietanen Jr., my great-grandfather.

Vikki and Becki’s mother is my second cousin once removed. Their father is David’s third cousin. This may not seem such a close connection between David and me. But compared to the long chain we each had to trace to reach the previous common cousin we knew of, Nathaniel Bartlett, the connection between us through our mutual cousins Vikki and Becki seems like almost nothing. It’s been almost two weeks now since I discovered that these sisters—and their children—are David’s and my cousins in common, but it still kind of blows my mind.

Damn Yankees!

As I may have mentioned before, I grew up knowing a lot more about my mom's family who were generally all from the South. The Kirkpatrick line is especially rich with stories and is very well documented, including multiple Kirkpatrick letters from the US Civil War (which I will eventually blog about).

David Sellers (1845-1927)

However, until recently I had no direct evidence that I had any ancestors that fought with the Union during the Civil War, but at last I've found one (on my father's side, of course). This is David Sellers, my great-great-grandfather. His daughter Nora Belle Sellers Miller (1873-1948) was the mother of my paternal grandmother Fern Naomi Miller Maxine (1890-1945).

I hadn't known much about the Sellers family beyond a few names. But I knew my dad was fairly close to this grandmother. He took me to see their old house in Minnesota in the early 1980s. But last last year I connected with my Miller cousins, who were able to share much wonderful information, including some great photographs.

I quickly found an obituary for my great-great-grandfather, which mentioned that he served in the Civil War (on the Union side). We had a Yankee in the family after all!

The obituary stated that David Sellers fought with Company G, 146th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. But further research shows a typo and that he was actually in Company G of the 164th and later served with Company B of the 195th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

1890 Veteran's Schedule

He died on March 22, 1927. Here's his obituary from the local paper. I've made two corrections. His wife's maiden name was Lower not Sowers - and I corrected his regiment number. 

David Sellers - Obituary

DAVID SELLERS, 81,

CLAIMED BY DEATH

David Sellers, aged 81, veteran of the Civil war and a life long resident of Seneca county, died this morning at four o'clock in the home of his son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Swope.  He had been ill for three and a half months.

Mr. Sellers was born August 19, 1845, in Pleasant township. He was a son of Frederick and Hannah [Shidler] Sellers. On December 15, 1870, he was married to Miss Caroline Lower. Nine children were born.

During the Civil war Mr. Sellers was a member of Co. G, 146th [actually the 164th] Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. These daughters survive: Mrs. Eva Montgomery, Wickliffe, Ohio, Mrs. Nora Miller, Goodrich, Minnesota, Mrs. Harry Swope, Fort Seneca, Ohio, and Mrs. Bert Adelsperger, near Tiffin, Ohio. These brothers and sisters are left: Reuben Sellers, Sidney, Ohio; George Sellers, Bryan, Ohio; Jesse Sellers, El Campo, Texas, Andrew Sellers, Fostoria; and Mrs. Anna Keyser, Omak, Washington.

Funeral services will be held Friday afternoon at 1:30 in the home and at 2:00 in the M. E. church at Fort Seneca, conducted by the Rev. Mr. Hainen, Bettsville. Burial will be in Pleasant Union cemetery.

The Sellers family - David and Caroline at center, daughter Nora Belle seated on right.

The family portrait above (probably dating from the mid-1890s) shows David and Caroline and their five daughters who lived to adulthood. They had nine children all told. The only daughter I can identify in the photo above is my great-grandmother Nora Belle Sellers Miller (1873-1948) who is seated on the right. The photo came down through the family and the parents and she are the only ones identified on the back. In all likelihood the daughter seated on the left is Eva May - the eldest - but that is only a guess. People! Please label your family photos! 

I can share a little more information about the daughters than was given in the obituary. Eva May Sellers Montgomery (1871-1935) married Chester Montgomery (1869-1926). They had six children and lived in Willoughby, Wickliffe, and Painesville, Ohio, over the years. Nora Belle Sellers Miller married my great-grandfather Edward Nelson Miller. They lived in Tiffin, Ohio; Jamestown, North Dakota; and Willow River, Minnesota. The three daughters standing in the back are (in no particular order) Nina Sellers Palm (1878-1919), Clara Ellen Sellers Swope (1880-1928), Callie Edith Sellers Adelsperger (1884 -   ). The four children that died young were Ida Sellers (1876-1876), Willis E. Sellers (1889-1891), Bessie B. Sellers (1891-1896), and Gertrude Sellers (1893-1896).

I know my partner Eric is quite excited for me to get on with the research into my Ohio relatives, hoping we find a family connection somewhere in there.  Go, Buckeyes!

From Maximin to Maxine

My Dad - Willis Henry Maxine.

One of the most difficult branches of my family tree to research has been the one bearing my own name - the Maxine family. I knew that Maxine had been spelled Maxime at some earlier point, and when I was growing up my dad said we were French. He told me his grandfather had married a woman named Harriet Dejardin who was from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and they'd moved to Jamestown, North Dakota, where my grandfather and dad had been raised. That was about it.

My dad's family never seemed particularly close. I only met my grandfather four or five times. I only met my Uncle Chuck once! I did get to know my Uncle Eddie a little bit. When I was a kid I loved to brag about Uncle Eddie because he owned an airplane. Of my dad's siblings, I knew my Aunt Margaret best. We sometimes stayed with her on family visits to Minneapolis. My family moved to Minneapolis in 1980, which gave me more contact with her and her family, too.

Now, my dad did get into genealogy very briefly in the late 1970s - probably because of Roots - and he wrote down all he remembered, his grandparents, some stray surnames, a bit of information about his mom's family, and a list of some cousins he remembered from childhood. He also paid a visit to his sister and brought back a small stash of photos. In the early 1980s my dad decided to write a sort of memoir - all in all only about a dozen pages - little fragments, memories, mostly rather melancholy.

When one examines one's life to see if it has a special meaning it makes one wonder and reflect and not be too sure of where to look. Like a skein of tangled yarn, one pulls on certain threads and finds the skein tightening up, another releases, and so on and on . . . My father's father was French, and in Paris he carried coal up six flights of stairs. This must have been a miserable back-breaking job carrying the black stuff from under to six floors up where it provided light and heat and in some way he sought a promise and came to America. He found other French in Green Bay, Wisconsin and found himself surplus and moved to Jamestown, North Dakota where he must have disappeared into the Puree of this great melting pot. I marvel at how little I know of my past, My father I remember as a great story-teller like so many yet it all was within the American tradition of anecdotes to tell stories to give themselves a sense of place, jokes of those less fortunate or stupid, and a secret envy for the rich or successful.

I only found this folder of my dad's writings after he died in 1993. It's the only story I ever got of where we Maxines came from, of who we were. In the last few years I have finally been able to track down the Maxine family and I deeply regret I can't share the information with my dad. Some of what my dad knew turned out to be incorrect. We Maxines are in fact Belgian - not French. And our Maxine ancestors came to America a generation earlier than he believed. Still, I think his version rings true in spirit. Here's what I now know about my Maxine ancestors.

At this point I have traced the Maxine family back to my great-great-grandfather, François Maximin (1807-1894), from Namur, Belgium. He married Marie J. Bouchat (1818-1895) from Saint-Denis, Belgium, in 1840, according to The History of Door County (1881). I do not know what François did in Belgium. Clearly family legend suggests that he delivered coal. But in any case he decided to try his luck in the United States. Francois and Marie departed Antwerp on April 5, 1856, aboard the ship "Atlas." According to the ship's Passenger List (I have not examined the original) they had six children:

Marie-Therese Maximin (about 1838- ?) Is this a child from an earlier marriage?

Jean Joseph Maximin (about 1845-?) My great-grandfather

Victor Joseph Maximin (about 1848-?)

Charles Joseph Maximin (about 1850-?)

Therese Françoise Maximin (about 1852-?)

Ferdinante Maximin (about 1855-?)

They arrived in New York on May 22, 1856. These dates show a voyage length of forty-seven days - thus certainly a sailing ship - and with four of the six children under ten years old it must have been one great voyage! My great-grandfather, Jean Joseph, would have been eleven or twelve.

On arrival in New York, François and Marie Maximin became Frank and Mary Maxime. The 1860 census shows they settled in the richly Belgian community of Ahnapee Township in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin. However, that census record lists the children as: Joe age fifteen, Frank age thirteen, Chas. age eleven, and Ferdinand age nine. A few mysteries ensue: Is Victor now called Frank? The census seems to have garbled the two young daughters together and made them into a son called Ferdinand, nine years old.

1860 Census - Ahnapee Township, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin - P. 376, Dwelling 481.

The 1870 census shows that the family has relocated to Union Township in Door County, Wisconsin.  The aforementioned History of Door County (1881) says that in 1875 daughter Therese married a man named Joseph Hote. And that in same year Ferdinante married a man named Jole (aka Jules) Marchant. Ferdinante and Jole moved to Marinette and had two children. Further research shows that the above mentioned Therese is the Marie-Therese born in 1838.

The rest of the Maximes are still in Union Township in 1880, and my great-grandfather is listed as a laborer working on the farm of Anton Poirier in Brussels Township - yet still living with his parents in Union.

Marie-Therese Henriette "Harriet" Dejardin.

At some point in the late 1880s Jean Joseph married Marie-Therese Henriette Dejardin (1847-1900), called Harriet. She had been married twice previously and already had seven children. There is some reason to believe that Jean Joseph may have had an earlier marriage, too,  that produced at least one child named Mary (1883 - 1889).

Around 1888 Jean Joseph and one of his brothers, with their families and parents, took off for Jamestown, North Dakota. A year or two later a second brother followed. Evidence suggests that the Maxime sons all began working for the railroad. At the time of the move patriarch Frank Maxime was over eighty. He died in Jamestown in 1894 at the age of 87.

Jean Joseph (Joe) and his wife Harriet had two sons: Victor Maxime (1888-1957) and my grandfather Charles Joseph Maxime (1891-1972). Harriet died of influenza in February of 1900. There is a possibility that Jean Joseph had a previous marriage - but this is speculation based on the grave of a Maxime child named Mary (1883-1889) next to Harriet's grave at the Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Jamestown. Harriet is unlikely to be the mother, as in 1883 she was still married to one of her earlier husbands when little Mary was born. According to reports from his step-children Jean Joseph was something of a tight-wad - so much so that when Harriet died he would not pay for her funeral - the specifics are unknown. Jean Joseph continued to raise his two children by Harriet as well as looking after at least a couple of his step-children from Harriet's previous marriages.

His son (my grandfather) Charles Joseph Maxime married Fern Naomi Miller circa 1912. They continued to spell their last name Maxime until shortly after my father was born. (Various records and papers from my dad's earliest years list him as Willis Henry Maxime.) But by the time my dad was about two years old the family name was spelled Maxine. My dad hinted that the spelling change may have come about because of a rift or resentment between my my grandfather and great-grandfather - perhaps related to Harriet's early death and Jean Joseph's refusal to pay for her funeral?

Fern Naomi Miller and Charles Joseph "Buck" Maxine - my grandparents.

My Maxine grandparents had four children: Edward Joseph Maxine (1913-1996), Charles David Maxine (1915-2000),  Willis Henry Maxine (1919-1993), and Margaret Ann Maxine Schon (1922-2007) - all of whom retained the Maxine spelling of their last name.

I never knew my Maxine grandmother, Fern - she died in 1945. My grandfather remarried a few years later. He was hospitalized after an accident while working on the railroad, and he married his nurse, Ina J. Western, whom we all called "Westie."

I don't have many Maxine relatives anymore. I have lost track of most of my Maxine first cousins - indeed I never knew any of my Uncle David's kids. But in recent years I've been in much closer contact with my Uncle Eddie's family. On this coming Thursday, February 21st, it will be exactly twenty years since my dad died. It's rather a shocking realization. It makes me glad I still have a few Maxine cousins. If any long-lost Maxine cousins happen to find this blog, I'd love to hear from you!

Uncle Eddie and my Dad in the late 1970s.

Three-fer

One thing that fascinates me in the genealogical research of my family is how often family lines intertwine. In times when people didn’t often travel far from the places of their births, in rural areas where people were tied to their land, and in migrations when a group of families crossed national boundaries together it’s not unusual to find multiple connections between families. A common example of this is when several children of one family marry several children of a second family. These multi-sibling marriages are relatively common in my family. When I also add in connections that cross generations and connections that join family branches, instances of intertwining lines occur surprisingly often.

Some of my past blog posts mention incidents of family lines connecting in more than one place. A few months ago I wrote about the unsettlingly intertwined Grant and Hubbard families.  Earlier this month I discussed connections among the Arneth, Startzman, and Reitenauer families. And in the footnote to the Hirvi post last week I described how June Megley’s two marriages connected the Hirvi and Hietanen lines of my family.

Today I’m going to outline the interconnections among the Shanower, King, and Gerber families. Pay attention. This gets complicated.

Possible photo of Sophia King Shanower (1841-1877).

My discovery of these interconnections began with my great-great-grandfather Benjamin Franklin Shanower (1845-1928) and his first wife Sophia King Shanower (1841-1877), who lived during their seven-year marriage in Stark County, Ohio. Information on Sophia King was lacking. I had made an attempt to find her family of origin, but the information that surfaced wasn’t conclusive. It can be hard to prove things with such a common surname as King. And since I’m descended from Benjamin Franklin’s second wife Louisa “Lucy” Leifer (1856-1916), I had no direct blood connection to his first wife Sophia King Shanower as far as I knew. So she wasn’t my highest research priority.

I found another King—Emeline King (1839-1914)—on another branch of the family tree. Emeline also lived in Stark County, Ohio. Her husband was David E. Gerber (1834-1921), a Stark County native descended from Swiss immigrants to Pennsylvania, some via Alsace, France. Emeline and David were the parents of Melissa Agnes Gerber (1861-1942), who married my great-great-great-uncle William Zachary Shanower (1855-1903). (You can read about Melissa and William’s son Harvey Allen Shanower’s first marriage here.) William Zachary was a brother of Benjamin Franklin Shanower. That made William Zachary’s wife Melissa a sister-in-law to Benjamin Franklin’s wife Sophia King Shanower. This family relationship, as well as geographic proximity, made me wonder whether Sophia King Shanower and Emeline King Gerber might be from the same King family. Their births were two years apart. Maybe they were sisters.

The Gerber family about 1900. Back, left to right: Mary E. "Mellie" Gerber Miller, John Calhoun Gerber, George W. Gerber, Edson (Edward) D. Gerber, David H. S. Gerber (of whom more below), Elva Gerber Riley. Front, left to right: Kathryn E. "Kate" Gerber Yutze, David E. Gerber (husand and father), Jennie L. Gerber, Emeline King Gerber (wife and mother), Melissa Agnes Gerber Shanower (wife of William Zachary Shanower).

I re-doubled my efforts to identify Sophia's King family. It turned out I was right—Emeline and Sophia were sisters, daughters of Abraham King (1804-1888) and Phoebe Reichenbach King (1807-1885). Abraham and Phoebe King were parents to a large brood, all born in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The last name King had been Americanized from Koenig, and both Abraham's and Phoebe's ancestors had come from Switzerland, as several of my family lines did.

The King family moved to Canton, Stark County, Ohio, about 1856. Their farm was next door to the Gerber farm, so it surely wasn't long before Emeline King met her neighbor David E. Gerber. In 1858 they married. Like Emeline's parents, she and David also gave birth to a large brood.

The Gerber farmhouse about five miles south of Canton, Stark County, Ohio, circa 1910. Emeline King Gerber is the seated woman on the right. Her husband David E. Gerber is the seated man. They are surrounded by some of their children and their children's families. The King family, who were Emeline's parents and siblings, lived on the farm next door from about 1856 to 1866. The farm of Aaron King, brother of Emeline and Sophia, was another two doors down during the same period.

David and Emeline Gerber's eldest daughter Clara Ellen Gerber (1859-1881), like her sister Melissa and her aunt Sophia, married a Shanower. Clara married John A. Shanower (1851-1923), another of my great-great-great-uncles. John was a brother of both William Zachary, Melissa’s husband, and Benjamin Franklin, Sophia’s husband. Clara and John's marriage made Clara’s Aunt Sophia also her sister-in-law. (Although this double relationship was academic, since Sophia was dead by the time Clara married John in 1880.)

David Shanower Gerber's adoption certificate.

On July 30, 1881, John and Clara Ellen Gerber Shanower had their first and only child, David Henry Shanower (1881-1972). Clara died four days later from delivery complications. Her death certificate lists cause of death as “Childbed.” By the time David was four years old, his father John evidently wasn't up to the task of single fatherhood, so it was decided that David’s maternal grandparents, David E. Gerber and Emeline King Gerber, would adopt him. The adoption went through on November 23, 1885.

David Henry Shanower took the last name Gerber. His descendants are all my cousins twice over—through both the Shanower line and the adopted Gerber line. They’re one generation closer to me through the Shanower line.

My first cousin three times removed David Henry Shanower Gerber is related to Sophia King Shanower in three ways. He’s her nephew through her marriage to his uncle Benjamin Franklin. He’s her grand-nephew through her sister Emeline, his grandmother. He’s her nephew again through his adoption by Emeline. So Sophia King Shanower, who I thought was only connected to me by her marriage to my great-great-grandfather Benjamin Franklin Shanower, turns out to be connected also through David Henry, our common blood relative, as well as through his birth parents. That makes Sophia my great-great-great-aunt-in-law and my great-great-great-great-aunt-in-law, as well as my great-great-step-grandmother. Three relatives in one.

The Gerber family, circa 1884. When I first saw this photo I'd read of David Henry Shanower's adoption by his maternal grandparents, but I didn't put two-and-two together and realize that the boy on the front right, who was identified as David Gerber, is actually my Shanower cousin. Obviously I realize that now. Back, left to right: George W. Gerber, Kathryn E. "Kate" Gerber Yutze, John Calhoun Gerber, Edward D. Gerber. Middle, left to right: Melissa Agnes Gerber Shanower (wife of William Zachary Shanower), Elva Gerber Riley, David E. Gerber (husband and father), Emeline King Gerber (wife, mother, and Sophia King Shanower's sister), Mary E. "Mellie" Gerber Miller. Front, left to right: Jennie L. Gerber and David Henry Shanower Gerber (son of John A. Shanower and Clara Ellen Gerber Shanower, adopted by David and Emeline Gerber).