My reply to James Wilkinson is blocked before he receives it so I will try posting it
on this board where he should see it! It is giving some history of some of my Decatur Co
families, so if anyone else has connections I'd be happy to hear from them! Marian
From: "Marian Dunlap" <mdunlap(a)consolidated.net>
To: ""James Wilkinson"" <tnecjim(a)earthlink.net>
Subject: [INDECATU] Wilhoit
Date: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 9:27 AM
First, I had a note back from Russell Wilhoit after he read my message on the
list, and he said some people do have trouble getting through to him, but if
I have trouble just keep trying and eventually it will make it to him! One
of the things he did for me was go through the old microfilmed newspapers at
the library and make copies of obituaries he found there and I learned a lot
of things I hadn't found in my research.
My main line in Decatur Co was my RAY family. Once in a while it got
spelled differently, but basically there it comes out RAY. My great-great
was a James Ray who was born in North Carolina, and ended up in Nicholas Co
KY. He named a son James also, and this James moved on into Scott Co IN,
and finally on into Decatur Co IN where he died young. While he was in
Scott Co he went back home and married Jane MORRIS. We know nothing about
her but that she was indentured at a very young age, which they tell me
could mean that both parents were dead or that only her mother was living
but that she was unable to support the child. She was lucky, and the family
she was indentured to treated her like their own child and she stayed with
them long after she could have left. I was told that there were many
deaths among the people moving into Kentucky at that time and there aren't
records to tell us much. In fact, the family that raised Jane ended up in
Decatur Co, and I have felt that was what brought James and Jane Ray there.
Then there was my BUTCHER family. I should mention that in I think it
was 1850 there were four William Butchers on the census--mine and his son
William, and a completely separate William Butcher family who also had a son
William--that Butcher family ended up in Howard Co IN, and we found no
connection. To make it even weirder, that other William Butcher married a
sister of MY William Butcher! On the Butcher's again I go back only to that
great-great-grandfather who shows up in the Decatur Co 1850 census with no
wife, but with some children. His Margaret BUTCHER married into the RAY
family and I have been able to follow those Butcher children and the
youngest Butcher daughter married a HAVICE. And my HAVICE line. I have
taken them back to when they arrived and at that time their name was spelled
HEBEISEN in Pennsylvania. That Abraham Hebeisen kept moving west until he
ended up in Beaver Co PA. Gradually the name Hebeisen turned into Havice.
We pronounce it like Hay-vise--while another branch I found pronounced it as
HAV-IS. We think our way is probably the original way.
My great-grandfather Abraham Havice moved from Decatur Co over to
Central Illinois (Champaign Co), and he had married a Malinda McCARTY--yes,
in Decatur Co. Haven't found a trail of any kind to help me with that
McCarty line. There is a prominent McCarty line in Decatur Co that people
have traced, but that doesn't seem to be Malinda's family.
My James Ray and Margaret Butcher ended up in Bourbon Co KS where they
homesteaded. Her brother William Butcher was there a while, but later
settled across the line in Cedar Co MO. Kind of a mixed up mess, isn't it?
Does all that connect anywhere?
Marian