Hello folks,
Grab a cup of coffee, and sit back. This is gonna be long, and I need
your expertise to review this, and advise me.
1850 Census- Van Buren Township
Jacob age 23 Farmer NJ
Rebecca age 18 OH (This is his wife, Rebecca Ritter)
Sarah age 5 months IN
Elizabeth age 29 NJ (presume Jacob's sister)
Peter age 65 NJ (presume Jacob's father)
Debera age 63 NJ (presume Jacob's mother)
It is noted that Elizabeth, Peter, and Debera cannot read or write.
1860 Census- Wayne Township
Jacob age 35 Laborer NJ
Rebecca age 29 OH (cannot read or write)
Sarah age 10 IN
Mary E age 7 IN
Arthur age 5 IN
Theodore age 3 IN
Perry H age 1 IN
(did not find Elizabeth, Peter, or Debera)
Jacob Peterson enters the Indiana 20th Ind Light Artillery on September
19, 1862. He died at Indianapolis, IN on 12/8/1862. This unit did not
even leave camp until 12/17/1862. Rebecca eventually applies for a
pension, and there is also a Guardian name on the pension index, but I
cannot read the dates on what I am working from. No luck yet finding
details on death or where he is buried.
1870 Census
Cannot find the eldest child Sarah. Perhaps she is married by
then? There is a marriage index listing of Sarah Peterson and John
Vannator on May 1, 1867, but this is a wild guess on my part. Ordering
the marriage certificate from K County Clerk will not answer the
question, because they do not have the applications for marriage prior
to 1903. (Hence, no parents' names) At her second marriage in 1886,
(to my G-Grandfather) she uses the name Sarah Peterson.
Cannot find Mary E.
Cannot find Arthur
Theodore, now age 13, is living with the farm family of Charles and
Barbary Evers in Tippecanoe Township. (Transcription online has his
name as Thomas, but I viewed the census image, and it is definitely
Theodore.)
Perry H, now age 11, is working on the family farm of "Mosess
Byrers" (1860 census has his name as Moses Byers) in Turkey Creek
Township.
One possibility of Rebecca- There is a Rebecca Peterson, age 37 in
Warsaw "keeping house" with Christiana, age 8, and Lemuel R, age 4. No
one else in the household. Again, this seems like a wild guess on my
part, but the age is close, it says she was born in Ohio, and again
there is a notation that this woman also cannot read or write, and the
age is close, though not exact.
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There are several Kosciusko County Marriages indexed that might be
members of this family, but before I go off on too many wild tangents, I
thought I would ask you folks to take a look at this, and maybe somebody
actually has more info on this family.
Also, the Index for K County Guardians has a listing for Jacob
Peterson. I e-mailed the person indicated on the web page for
instructions and costs to order, but have not heard back yet. Can
somebody tell me if this Index is by the name of the person who was the
subject of the guardianship petition, or by the name of the person
appointed Guardian? Trying to figure out how this might fit in.
Thank you so much for wading through this. I am in Macomb County,
Michigan, so if you need anything from here, feel free to ask. I have
gotten so much from the wonderful Kosciusko County page, and would love
to repay some of it.
Kathleen Western