When I was 4 1/2 years old, I was adopted and my name was legally
changed from Callender to Rogers. I have no memory of my early
childhood before I was adopted.
After my adopted parents died, I was able to obtain my Birth Certificate
which shows that I was born William Henry Callender on June 15, 1933 in
Kenton, Hardin County, Ohio. It also shows that my birth parents were
James Adrian Callender-deceased and Bernice Fitzpatrick-deceased (
Marriage date unknown ). I have been able to obtain a lot of
information about the Fitzpatricks but very little information about the
Callenders and my research seems to have reached a dead end. I was able
to obtain a copy of my birth father's Death Certificate and through it
and a variety of other sources, I have been able to piece together the
following limited information but I haven't been able to verify most of
it. My only certainty is that my Callender ancestors came from
Northwestern Ohio.
I learned that my birth father James Adrian Callender was born on August
14, 1879 in Holgate, Ohio and died on June 11, 1935 in Kenton, Ohio.
Prior to marrying my birth mother, he may have married a Harriett E.
DeValt on May 13, 1905 in Holgate, Ohio and there may have been children
by this marriage. I haven't been able to verify this marriage either.
The death certificate also shows that James Adrian Callender's parent's
were John Callender ( Born sometime between 1844-1846 in Farmer
Township, Defiance County, Ohio ) and Nancy Jane Kearns ( or Curns )
(Birthplace Holgate, Ohio-Birth date and Marriage date unknown ). My
other information indicates that he was also married twice. John
Callender was first married to a lady whose first name was Phoebe ( Last
name and Marriage date unknown ) and they may have had two daughters (
Rose and Inez Alvena Callender ). His second marriage was to Nancy Jane
Kearns ( my grandmother ) and they may have had four children (
Harrison, James Adrian ( my birth father ), Pearl, and Kate or Catherine
Callender ). John Callender may have died in Newaygo County, Michigan
sometime around 1925.
I would really like to be able to verify the above information and to
trace this branch of the Callenders back several more generations so
that I can develop a legitimate family history and blood line that I can
pass on to my children and grandchildren.
I don't know a whole lot about genealogy but I have done quite a bit of
looking. I've spent many hours looking at Census Records and in the
1880 Census for Mt. Pleasant Township in Henry County, Ohio, I found a
John Callender-age 34, wife Nancy Jane Kearns-age 23, daughter Rosa-age
9, son Harry-age 4, and son James (should be my father )-age 1. The
most difficult part of this is that my father was born way back on
August 14, 1879 and was 53 years old when I was born. Age wise, he
could easily have been my grandfather.
Unfortunately, the 1890 Census is not available due to a fire. In the
1900 Census for Flatrock Township in Holgate, Henry County, Ohio, I
found a John Callender-age 54 living with his son James-age 20. I
couldn't find anything else on my grandmother and can only assume that
she must have died sometime between 1880 and 1900.
In the 1850 Census for Farmer Township in Defiance County, Ohio, I found
three John Callenders. The first family I found was William H.
Callender-age 35, wife Nancy J.-age 36, daughter Margaret J.-age 14, son
William-age 12, daughter Mary A.-age 10, daughter Elizabeth-age 8,
daughter Francis K.-age 6, and son John-age 4. The second family was
James Callender-age 26, wife Catharine-age 34, son William E.-age 12,
daughter Mary J.-age 12, daughter Angelina-age 9, son James E.-age 7,
son John D.-age 5, daughter Rachel-age 3, and daughter Phebe-age 4/12 (
probably 4 months ). It appears that this family had a set of twins.
The third family was Soloman Callender-age 26, wife Sarah-age 22,
daughter Mary-age 4, son William J.-age 2, and son Jonathan J.-age 3/12
( probably 3 months ). All three families were in farming and I believe
that my grandfather was somewhere in this mix. I just don't have any
way to verify this. There were also 2 other Callender families in
Defiance County at that time-all of them in farming. One family head
was Mary Callender-age 56. I didn't make the connection before but I
now suspect that she could have been the mother of William H.-age 35,
John C.-age 34, James-age 26, Soloman-age 24, Jefse P.-age 20, Mary-age
16, Louisa-age 14, and David-age 10.
I know that this seems like a lot of information to digest but maybe
you'll be able to find a connection. So far, I've only been able to
make assumptions bu haven't been able to verify any information that I
can specifically relate to myself. It's been fun looking but it would
be a lot more rewarding if I knew that I had valid information. It
appears that the names James, John, and William were used quite
frequently by the Callenders.
I have a lot of information but I really don't know much about my
Callender ancestors. All my life, I've had to tell people that I don't
know anything about my family history, especially when it comes to
medical questions. I'm very thankful that God has blessed me with good
health most of my life and this lack of knowledge didn't seem to make
much difference. For your information, I'm 6'0" tall, weigh
approximately 170, and when I was younger, had brown wavy hair. Maybe I
look like a Callender?
Thanks very much for your time and many more thanks for your willingness
to share with me. Please feel free to write, call, or E-Mail me at the
addresses below. May God richly bless you!
Sincerely,
Bill Rogers
4117 Chestnut Avenue
Kansas City, MO 64130
Telephone (816) 923-1964
E-Mail: evangel2(a)swbell.net