In digging through various records and using full-text search, I’ve been able to reconstruct the lives of many of my mid-19th-century ancestors. My 2nd-great-grandparents were all born between 1812 and 1843, spanning the period from the War of 1812 through the railroad era. They lived through the Civil War and, for some, into the early years of the 20th century. This was the generation that eventually settled on the Missouri prairie, many having followed migration routes through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. I’ve been able to write a great deal about this generation, thanks to family writings, extensive analysis of population and agricultural schedules, and probate and land records.
But the trail starts to get spotty with the previous generation, especially my 3rd-great-grandparents who were born in the 18th century and took the more southerly routes from Virginia through Kentucky and Tennessee. I might not have hit brick walls, but sometimes we are left with little more than names and dates. There are some notorious characters, like John Reed, but others, especially women, are shrouded in obscurity. And sometimes a name and a few facts simply stick out and inspire us to find more. One such person is Martha Jane Weatherford, my 3rd-great-grandmother on my mother’s side.
What do we know about Martha Jane? First, she was another Kentucky girl, born in Nicholas County, northeast of Lexington, on March 23, 1823, to Jonas Weatherford and Judith Rawlins. Sometime before 1841, the family moved to Morgan County, Illinois, where 18-year-old Martha Jane married Joseph White, a 54-year-old widower who was said to be a preacher on the Methodist or Baptist circuit. The only family lore handed down was that her parents were unhappy about her marriage to a man 36 years her senior—and older than her father. Not surprising.
What else do we know about her? The family moved to Sangamon County, and she bore eight children—seven girls, including Jane Elizabeth White, who married Anthony Gilmartin, and one boy. Martha Jane lived until 1892, spending her last 28 years as a widow. And then? Her son, James Monroe White, apparently died young, while her daughters took different paths. Some married and migrated west, while others remained in the area.
Joseph was a farmer, and census records show that in 1860 they had a farm worth $1,800. The Agricultural Schedule tells us that this was a relatively small farm, with 40 acres improved and 33 acres unimproved. Their livestock holdings were worth only $40 and consisted of just two milk cows. Somehow, they were able to harvest three tons of hay, 120 bushels of wheat, and 1,000 bushels of Indian corn. With Joseph being all of 73 years old, they must have had considerable help from their teenage daughters, Julia Ann, Nancy Melissa, and Jane Elizabeth.
But what happened to the farm and the family after Joseph’s death in 1864? We don’t know. Either there are no surviving legal records, or they are not accessible through FamilySearch Full-Text Search. The 1870 Census lists Martha Jane and four of her daughters—(Nancy) Melissa, Sarah, Annie, and Alice—but gives no value for real estate. There’s no entry for the family on the agricultural schedule, either.
So what can we discern about Martha Jane, or M.J.? She had two older brothers, but she was the oldest daughter in the family, so she may have assumed more responsibility and perhaps been more mature than her years. Was she smitten with the widower Joseph White? Their first child was born a respectable 14 months after their marriage, so there was no obvious reason they had to marry. One census record indicates that she couldn’t read or write, a condition common among farmers from southern and Appalachian families.
The couple was together for 23 years, until Joseph’s death in 1864. Even though Martha Jane was only 41 years old and had several young children, she never remarried. She was buried as “Martha J. White, wife of Joseph White.” She had family living with her until 1882, when daughter Anna, listed as a member of the household, married.
All we seem to have are households, dates, and a snapshot of her life when she was 37 years old. Were there land sales? Was there help from family? What happened to the farm? Clearly, answering these questions will require more digging and a better understanding of Martha Jane’s FAN club.
Another task for another day.
Photo:
Entry for Martha J. White, 1870 Census, Sangamon County
