Hello
This is what I think, but can not prove.
Merrit H. Cave married a Catherine Rush born in 1817. They married on June
21, 1835 Monroe County, Missouri, then had the following children:
Gabriel Cave born 1838 married Delia J. Ham
Martha Ann Cave born 1842 Charles F. Ashworth
Susan Frances born 1844 James G. Grisham
Josephine Cave born 1847
Margaret Cave born 1847
James R. Cave born 1849
Merrit Cave born 1852 married Jenny Swisher, daughter of Absolom Swisher
of Adams County, Illinois.
Merrit Cave and Jenny Swisher's children:
Charles A. (Ashworth) Caves born 1878 Illinois
Bert Caves (May have been Albert and note added "s") born ? (Resided
Havanna Illinois)
Clarence Caves (Unknown)
Daughter Caves (May have been named Panzie, resided Iowa)
Unknown (unamed but found in court records) Caves born October 17, 1880
(M/F/?)
Brown County, Illinois (Found in Mt. Sterling Illinois County Court Records)
John Caves born 1883 died April 14, 1889 Butler County, Missouri (Buried
at Johnson's Sawmill, Butler County, Missouri)
Martie W. Caves born March 1888 possibly in Pine Bluff, Jefferson Co.,
Arkansas
Ralf E. Caves December 9, 1898 married Elizabeth Fern
Josephine Cave, born 1852, where, I'm not sure. Married an Andrew Smith,
September 15, 1880, Clark County, Alabama. She is the daughter of John Brown
Cave and Almina Hawkins.
Now, this is where my search gets interesting. I have been told that I am
a descendant or related to John Brown Cave. I now see that John Brown Cave
has this daughter Josephine Cave born in 1852, and, I know that my great
grandfather Merrit Cave has a sister named Josephine Cave. However, the
census states she would have been born abt 1847.
Any of this making sense to you, or do your recognize anything that might
help?
Thomas