Category Archives: Randolph County

James William Beckley

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James William Beckley
birth: Muncie, Delaware Co., Indiana to Wilfred Beckley and Arvie Mull
death: 5 April 2014
burial: Gardens of Memory, Muncie, IN

marriage: 31 July 1963
Mirtha Acosta
birth: 27 June 1939 to Pablo Acosta Mena and Regla Dolores Suarez
death:
burial: Maxville Cemetery, Randolph Co., IN

Children of James William Beckley and Mirtha Acosta:

  • Maria Dolores Beckley, b. 1965, m.(1) Adam Charles Bushong, (2) Paul Alex Barron
  • Luisa Lynn Beckley, b. 1968, m. Jeffrey Mayer
  • Ariana Beckley, b. 1969, m.(1) Tony Weiss, (2) Michael Dickerson

James William Beckley:

  • Muncie, Delware County, Indiana
  • Farmland, Randolph County, Indiana
  • Angola/Marion
  • Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana
  • Shipshewana, LaGrange County, Indiana
  • Arizona
  • Forbes AFB, Kansas
  • Fort Bragg and Pope AFB, Fayettville, North Carolina
  • Goose Bay AFB, Canada
  • Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas
  • RAF Mildenhall/RAF Feltwell, England
  • AFB Riverside, CA

Other Information:

James William Beckley was a United Methodist Chaplain in the Air Force. He was my father and I am grateful for him and my mother who brought me into this world in Angola, Indiana. I am Once a Hoosier and Always a Hoosier as well. I will probably leave this world in Texas, but I am grateful for Indiana. My son is moving to INDIANA with is wife in April for a new job in Indianapolis. Isn’t it interesting that everything for my son is coming back to Indiana? :-)

Submitted by:
Maria D Acosta Brown
Email: maria.d.acosta@hotmail.com

 

Harry J. Smith

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Harry J. Smith
birth: 17 Nov 1869, probably in Randolph Co., IN to Stephen Alvaro and Suzannah (Epps) Smith
death: 12 Feb 1959, San Antonio, Bexar Co, TX
burial: unknown

marriage: 29 Jun 1892 in Converse, Miami Co., IN
Jessie Louena Eward
birth: 11 Sep 1866, Marion, Grant Co., IN to John William and Rebecca Jane (York) Eward
death: 14 May 1945, San Antonio, Bexar Co, TX
burial: unknown

Children of Harry J. Smith and Jessie Louena Eward:

  • Lucile Eward Smith, b. 5 Oct 1893 in Converse, Miami Co., IN, d. 11 Jan 1921, San Antonio, Bexar Co, TX
  • Laura Winifred Smith, b. 30 Aug 1897, d. 30 Jan 2003, m. E.A. Huebner
  • Rebecca Genevieve Smith, b. 8 Jan 1907, d. Sept 1994, m. W.B. Wright

Harry J. Smith lived in:

  • Randolph County, Indiana
  • Converse, Miami County, Indiana
  • Marion, Grant County, Indiana
  • Matthews, Grant County, Indiana
  • Roanoake, Huntington County, Indiana
  • San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Other Information:

Harry was born in Indiana and lived in Ohio. He returned to Indiana before his marriage. He worked as a carriage body finisher, a shoe dealer, and was a master mechanic for the Chicago, Indiana & Eastern railroad, which ran a short route in Indiana. Later, he was an auto painter. He could draw, play piano, and tell stories.

The family moved to San Antonio in 1911.

Harry J Smith photo

Harry J. Smith, about age 23

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Submitted by:
Nancy Wright Brennan
Email: nwbrennan@sbcglobal.net

John Abel Baldwin

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John Abel Baldwin
birth: 4 Jan 1844, Grant County, Indiana to Charles Phillip Baldwin and Rachel Lancaster
death: 1913, Amboy, Miami County, Indiana
burial: Amboy, Miami County, Indiana

married: 1868, Howard County, Indiana
Sarah Jane Hunt
birth: 1846, Randolph County, Indiana

Submitted by:
Christina Jane Baldwin Nicholson
chrisbnicholson@hotmail.com

Olive Alexander

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Olive Alexander
b. 10 June 1887, Jay County, Indiana, to Thomas Franklin and Mary Ann (Courtney) Alexander
d. 29 October 1973, Merced, Merced County, California

m/1. 11 August 1906, Bearcreek Township, Jay County, Indiana
Dallas Ray Richison
b. 4 August 1884, Jay County, Indiana, to Frank Albert and Sarah Jane (Davis) Richison
d. 13 March 1947, Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana

m/2. 15 April 1950
J. Frank Hodge
b. 24 November 1878, Jay County, Indiana, to Commodore Perry and Susan (Wood) Hodge
d. 1956, Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana

Children with Dallas Ray Richison:
• Modjeska Pauline (1907-1989) married Milburn
Theodore Thornburg
• Ophir Orlo (1909-1949) married Zella Beatrice
Wilkerson
• Herbert Meredith (1913-1969) married Alice Louise
Richardson
• Charles Allen (1918-1989) married Mildred Miley
• Frank Vaughn (1920-1999) married Edith Catherine
Smith

Olive lived in Jay and Randolph counties while she was in Indiana. She was moved to California by her son Frank and daughter Pauline when her health began to decline in 1966. When she died there in 1973, her ashes were flown back to Indiana to be buried beside her first husband, the father of all her children, in Fountain Park Cemetery in Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana.

Submitted by:
Shirley Richison Fields
Avon IN
E-mail: richison@indy.rr.com

Edith Catherine Smith

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Edith Catherine Smith
b. 15 February 1918, Ligonier, Noble County, Indiana, to Thomas Jackson and Eva May (Vance) Smith
d. 28 April 2003, Huntington Beach, California

m. 30 June 1946, Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana
Frank Vaughn Richison
b. 6 October 1920, Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana, to Dallas Ray and Olive (Alexander) Richison
d. 21 September 1999, Santa Ana, Orange County, California

Children with Frank Vaughn Richison:
• Michael Vaughn (b. 1949) married April Irene Kuikahi
• Patrick Allen (b. 1951) married Patricia Byers

Edith was a registered nurse and worked at the Irene Byrum Sanitarium in Fort Wayne, Indiana, until after her marriage. By 1947 she was living in St. Louis, but moved to Winchester where she lived for many years before making her final move to Santa Ana, Orange County, California.

Submitted by:
Shirley Richison Fields
Avon IN
E-mail: richison@indy.rr.com

Frank Vaughn Richison

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Frank Vaughn Richison
b. 6 October 1920, Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana, to Dallas Ray and Olive (Alexander) Richison
d. 21 September 1999, Santa Ana, Orange County, California

m. 30 June 1946, Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana
Edith Catherine Smith
b. 15 February 1918, Ligonier, Noble County, Indiana, to Thomas Jackson and Eva May (Vance) Smith

Children with Edith Catherine Smith:
• Michael Vaughn (b. 1949) married April Irene Kuikahi
• Patrick Allen (b. 1951) married Patricia Byers

Frank’s ancestors came to Indiana from Ohio sometime between the 1870 and 1880 censuses. The family lived in Wabash and Jackson townships of Jay County for many years, but by the time Frank was born, his father had located on a farm outside of Winchester in Randolph County, Indiana. Frank was living in St. Louis by 1947 but returned to Winchester for many years before moving to Santa Ana, California, where he lived out his life. He was a laboratory technician and worked long hours in the late 1940’s during a polo epidemic that caused many deaths in Winchester, Indiana.

Submitted by:
Shirley Richison Fields
Avon IN
E-mail: richison@indy.rr.com

Ila “Benton” Steele

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Ila “Benton” Steele
b. 6 July 1866, Willow Branch, Hancock County, Indiana, to James Scott and Lydia Margaret (Waller) Steele
d. 30 December 1943, Newton, Harvey County, Kansas

m. 11 October 1894, Hancock County, Indiana
Emma C. Oren
b. 14 November 1874, Farmland, Randolph County, Indiana
d. 28 April 1957, Sedgwick, Harvey County, Kansas

Children with Emma C. Oren:
• Margaret M. (1896-1979)
• James Benton (1898-1900)
• John O. (1900-1959)
• Allen T. (1903-1981)
• Elizabeth N. (1906-1981)
• Edward V. (1909-1966)
• Marshall E. (1912-1974)

The family left Indiana in 1907 or 1908. Benton Steele was noted in A Round Indiana: Round Barns in the Hoosier State by John T. Hanou.

Submitted by:
Emily F. Steele
San Diego CA
E-mail: donesteele@compuserve.com

Isaac Tilden Parker

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Isaac Tilden Parker
b. 12 February 1828, New Garden, Wayne County, Indiana, to Jesse Horn and Sarah (Arnold) Parker
d. 30 August 1916, Howard Lake, Wright County, Minnesota

m. 24 September 1851, Arba, Randolph County, Indiana
Sarah Charles Morgan
b. 12 August 1831, New Garden, Wayne County, Indiana
d. 7 May 1887, Howard Lake, Wright County, Minnesota

Children with Sarah Charles Morgan:
• Hannah Etta (1853-1915) married Peter Wright, Jr.
• Emma Lauretta (1855-1937) married Lee Johnson
• Mary Etta (1858-1876)
• Luther Lincoln (b. 1860) married Emma DeWeese
• Georgia Marie (b. 1864) married Marsden McWooley
• Frederick Morgan (1866-1938) married Clarice Everett
• Charles Elwood Morgan (1866-1935) married Elizabeth Bryan

Isaac, Sarah, their six children, and three young grandchildren left Indiana in the early 1880’s in a covered wagon for Howard Lane, Minnesota.

Submitted by:
Naomi E. Purves-Adams
St. Paul Park MN
E-mail: naomipa@comcast.net

John Wesley Odle

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John Wesley Odle
b. 19 August 1836, Randolph County, Indiana, to Caleb Owen and Irena (Franklin) Odle
d. 4 May 1921, Florence, Marion County, Kansas

m/1. 29 November 1855, Newton County, Indiana
Sarah Ann Honn
b. 9 April 1836, Washington County, Indiana, to Johan and Jane (Putoff) Honn
d. 29 October 1911, Florence, Marion County, Kansas

m/2. January 1917, Kansas
Jennie [–?–]

Children with Sarah Ann Honn:
• Daniel Elisha (1856-1933) married Janette Mary Ann Mandeville
• Irena Jane (1859-1889) married Robert Henry Kerns
• John Wesley (1864-1939) married (1) Margaret Isabel Burns, (2) Emma Davis
• David Eli (1868-1950) married Cora Mae Folsom
• Mary Etta (1870-1961) married Joseph Warren Barr
• William Patrick (1873-1965) married Minnie Bell Folsom
• James Berton (1876-1959) married Hattie Emily Spitler
• Newton Edmond (1880-1948) married Maud M. Blurton

The family left from Kentland, Newton County, Indiana, after James was born in May 1876. Newton was born in Iroquois County, Illinois. They arrived in Florence, Kansas, in 1884. John was in Company A of the 128th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, serving from November 1863 to January 1866. He was with Sherman on the march to the sea and also fought at Gettysburg.

John’s second wife, Jennie, later married Frank Hoffman.

Submitted by:
Betty Odle Ramsey
Batesville AR
E-mail: homes@ipa.net

Thomas Mason

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Thomas Mason
b. about 1792, North Carolina, to Thomas and Elizabeth Mason
d. 21 September 1865, Ironton, Sauk County, Wisconsin

m/1. 22 may 1815, Wayne County, Indiana
Griselda “Grizzel” Elliott
b. 1796, North Carolina, to Job and Orpha (Griffin) Elliott
d. 1830-31 in Indiana

m/2. 12 August 1831, Delaware County, Indiana
Mahala Puckett
b. about 1807, Surry County, North Carolina
d. Ironton, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Children with Griselda Elliott:
• Malinda (1825-1876) married Meredith Beeson
• Elihu married Elizabeth Collins
• Elliott (Eliot) married Gincy Jackson
• Edith married William Bates and/or Isaac Macy
• Mary married Thomas Addington

Children with Mahala Puckett:
• Nathan (1832-1912) married Elizabeth Weeks
• Gilla (b. 1834) married Will Bundy
• Thomas Elwood (1837-1914) married Martha Ann Bundy
• Clarinda (b. 1840)
• Isom (b. 1844) married Margaret Thomas
• James (b. 1846-died during Sherman’s march to the sea)
• Falitha (Talitha) (b. 1849) married George W. Ganfield
• Mahala (1851-1930) married John Fraser

Thomas came to Wayne County, Indiana, about 1814- 1815. They resided in Chester, Wayne County; Mississinewa Township; Delaware County; Pleasant Township; and Grant, Elkhart, and Randolph counties. He left the state in 1853 from Grant or Howard County. Thomas and Mahala were among the founding families of the Quaker settlement at Baraboo, Wisconsin. He was a minister.

Submitted by:
Leslie Hope
Santa Monica CA
E-mail: lahope@jps.net