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Author: DonnaToole
Surnames: Parks, Clevenger, Thornburg
Classification: queries
Message Board URL:
http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.indiana.counties...
Message Board Post:
John and Nancy Stothard Clevenger had a daughter, Eliza Jane. I am searching for her as I
believe her to be my great great grandmother, Eliza Jane Clevenger (1809-Probably Aft
1860) who first married Isaac Thornburg on 11 Jun 1829. I'm particularly interested
in her second husband, my great great grandfather, James Parks. After Isaac's death
in 1838-1839 at age 33, the children were farmed out to various aunts and uncles, though
the husband of Isaac's sister, Elizabeth, was appointed legal guardian.
In 1845, Eliza married JAMES PARKS, my great great grandfather, in Delaware County,
Indiana. It was also James's second marriage. They are in the 1850 US Census
[Blackford County], IN census and in the 1860 US Census [Delaware County], IN census [name
is misspelled as Parker in this 1860 census]. No one in our family has any information or
names of the first marriage and children of James - only that they existed.
I have followed just about every branch of the Clevenger and Parks trees I can find and
queried many libraries and historical societies and cannot come up with James Parks other
than in those two censuses. My great grandfather, Isaac, the son of James and Eliza, left
home at an early age during a difficult time after the death of his mother [Eliza] and
only indicated to family members that it was a difficult time and he didn't want to
talk about it. If my research in the Indiana court records is accurate with respect to my
ggg, James may have married a third time to a Katharine Aldridge, both of them in advanced
age by then, and this would have been at the same "difficult" time as son Isaac
left home. I found several Delaware County court documents which would indicate that
James was in failing mental capacity or developed something like Alzheimer's and was
cruel to Katharine. She filed for a divorce and restraining order, etc. I have no proof
yet that this is my James,!
but it certainly appears so at this point. I find no obituary and I find no grave for
James in Indiana, though a distant cousin has suggested he may have seen something about
James being buried in the Clevenger/Swingley abandoned cemetery. Though I find this
cemetery online, there is no entry for either James or Eliza Parks. I'm unable to
move past this Parks brick wall - a long standing wall of over 30 years for my family!
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