JAMES JASPER BRUTON

DNA does it again!  Another family mystery solved, and more cousins found.

JAMES JASPER BRUTON was my great uncle, the brother of my grandmother MINTTIE MAY BRUTON HUBER, and the only one of her three siblings who survived, married and had children.

He was born June 22, 1876 in Sparta, Christian County, Missouri, the son of Rev BENJAMIN BENTON BRUTON and SILOAMA WHITECOTTON.  Rev B B BRUTON was well-educated, an ordained Baptist minister, an author of several books & religious tracts,  and a well-loved teacher in Christian County, Missouri.  JAMES also became a teacher in the local schools.

James Jasper Bruton & son Jesse Jewel Bruton circa 1920 Christian Co Missouri

On Sept 1, 1900, JAMES married ELLA ADAMS in Christian County, Missouri.  They remained in the area until after his mother SILOAMA died in 1908.  Apparently he helped with his mother's application to the Eastern Cherokee Tribe, writing letters providing more information to Guion Miller (the application was rejected, because SILOAMA's ancestors were not Cherokee).

By the 1910 census, JAMES J BRUTON, his wife, and children were living in Brewer,  Muskogee County, Oklahoma, where his occupation was listed as school teacher.  By 1916, they were back in Christian County, Missouri.

JAMES J BRUTON & ELLA ADAMS had the following children:

---BONNIE LELA BRUTON born Oct 2, 1902 Christian County, Missouri; married MATH ADAMS; one son RAYMOND EUGENE ADAMS  d 1985

---WILLIAM MANCIE "BILL" BRUTON b May 30, 1912 Wyandott, Oklahoma; married BARBARA WARREN; two sons, two daughters 

---JESSE JEWELL BRUTON  b Oct 17, 1916 Chadwick, Christian County, Missouri; married JUNE MARIE HICKEY;  one daughter, possibly other children? 2nd marriage aft 2007.

(These three children would have been first cousins to my father and his nine siblings)

While I had long known about my grandmother's brother JAMES J BRUTON,  I could never seem to fully trace his children or his grandchildren after the 1930 census. All I could find in subsequent records was an indication that all of his children had ended up living in California.


JAMES J BRUTON & ELLA ADAMS divorced sometime before 1922; she remarried to  LOUIS E WILSON and moved with her sons to Boone County, Oklahoma. She died there in 1932.

Ella Adams Bruton with Bonnie Lela Bruton, and William Mancie "Bill Bruton circa 1920

After 1922, JAMES J BRUTON was frequently listed as living at the almshouse in Springfield, Greene County, Missouri.  He was listed in the 1930 census at the State Hospital in Vernon, Nevada County, Missouri.  The next record found was again at the almshouse in Springfield in 1953, which indicated he was released to relatives from California.  According to his death certificate and an obituary I found,  JAMES J BRUTON died Dec 31, 1958  in Springfield, Missouri.

To my knowledge, JAMES and his family never visited his sister, my grandmother MINTTIE MAY  in Iowa, where she & her family lived from 1908 onward. It's unlikely that my father ever knew that he had first cousins living in California.

Fast forward to 2020.   I recently received two separate DNA matches, one a 2nd cousin and descendant of JESSE JEWEL BRUTON  on AncestryDNA;  the other, a 2nd cousin 1 x removed and descendant of WILLIAM MANCIE "BILL" BRUTON on 23andMe.  So of course, I was thrilled!!   These are the first close DNA matches to the BRUTON family that I've had since I first tested with 23andMe ten years ago, in 2010.

One of the grandsons of JESSE JEWEL BRUTON shared the photos which I have posted here, and  I am deeply thankful to finally be able to see my great uncle.  I am looking forward to sharing this blog with my Huber relatives!


Be well, stay safe, and if you go out--please wear a mask!!

Betty


© Betty Tartas  2020

Two Different Men With the Same Name: Part Two MATTHIAS CLINE of Bracken Co Kentucky and Rush County, Indiana

CONRAD CLINE b 1814 Bracken County, Kentucky, and Dr JACOB ALONZO CLINE b 1822 Bracken County, Kentucky, were both said to be the sons of a MATTHIAS CLINE, reputed to have been from Bedford Co Pennsylvania. See previous post on how the MATTHIAS CLINE living in Bedford Co Pennsylvania was actually not their father.

Both CONRAD CLINE & JACOB ALONZO CLINE were known to have migrated sometime before 1840 to Rush County, Indiana. Both married in that county as per Rush Co Indiana marriage records:

--CONRAD CLINE m SARAH JANE SMITH 11 Sep 1841 Rush County, Indiana

--JACOB CLINE m REBECCA HARVEY  1 June 1843 Rush County, Indiana

In the 1850 Union, Rush County, Indiana census we find

MATTHIAS CLINE age 88 (born abt 1762) Maryland
EVE CLINE age 74 (born abt 1776) Maryland
JOHN CLINE age 21 (born abt 1829) Kentucky; son or grandson?

CONRAD CLINE was also living in Rush County, Indiana in 1850, although not near  MATTHIAS. JACOB ALONZO CLINE was living with wife REBECCA & two daughters in Liberty, Wabash County, Indiana in 1850 census.

Despite that, there is definitely evidence to indicate that this MATTHIAS CLINE is the father of both CONRAD CLINE & JACOB ALONZO CLINE.

MATTHIAS CLINE was living in Bracken County, Kentucky before 1820 census, which shows:
-- a male over 45,
--female (wife) age 26-44,
--two females age 10-15,
--one male age 16-25,
--three males age 10-15,
--and 4 males under age 10.

He is also listed in the 1830 Bracken County, Kentucky census, which shows:

--a male age 60-69
--female (wife) age 50-59
--one male age 20-29
--one male age 15-19
--four males age 10-14
--two males age 5-9
--two males under age 5 (likely grandchildren?)

MATTHIAS CLINE first appears in Rush County Indiana in the 1840 census, and then in the 1850 Rush County Indiana census.

The person who ties together both the Bracken County, Kentucky family and the Rush County Indiana family is REBECCA JANE CLINE, the daughter of MATTHIAS CLINE.

She was born about 1812 in Bracken County, Kentucky, and married on 13 Aug 1829, GEORGE PEARL, according to Bracken County, Kentucky marriage records.

In 1830 Bracken County, Kentucky census, GEORGE & REBECCA (CLINE) PEARL were living practically next door to MATTHIAS CLINE and family.



In 1840 Rush County, Indiana census GEORGE & REBECCA (CLINE) PEARL were living right next door to MATTHIAS CLINE and his wife EVE. In GEORGE & REBECCA's household were two young men too old to be their children, one male 20-29 (Dr JACOB ALONZO CLINE), and one male 10-14 (JOHN CLINE). The two eldest children of GEORGE & REBECCA, a boy WILLIAM & a girl MARGARET age 5-9, were enumerated in the household of MATTHIAS & EVE.



In 1850, GEORGE & REBECCA (CLINE) PEARL were living in Liberty, Wabash County, Indiana, very near to Dr JACOB ALONZO CLINE, his wife REBECCA, and two young daughters ELIZA & EMELINE.

By 1860, GEORGE & REBECCA (CLINE) PEARL had moved to Edgar County, Illinois, and can be found in census there next door to brother? nephew? JOHN CLINE b 1829 Kentucky, and wife ELIZABETH, who continued to live in Paris, Edgar County, Illinois until 1900, but were childless.

GEORGE PEARL died 1868 in Paris, Edgar County, Illinois, and REBECCA moved on to Palmyra, Otoe County, Nebraska, and then to Kansas, often living with or next to her children. REBECCA CLINE PEARL died 1 Dec 1903 in Palmyra, Otoe County, Nebraska.

But back to MATTHIAS CLINE b 1762 Maryland & his wife EVE b 1776 Maryland.

An 1825  deed record that I found showed that the family lived near the town of Augusta, Kentucky, right on the Ohio River.

They are not listed in 1810 Bracken County, Kentucky census, but their daughter REBECCA was born 1812 in Kentucky (Find-a-Grave shows 1809).

It is clear from census records that they had a very large family with many sons, and not all of their children have been traced.

Three of them are traceable in census records in Rush County, Indiana: JOSEPH CLINE b 1808 PA,  CONRAD CLINE b 1814  KY & HENRY CLINE b 1815 KY.  There was a LEWIS CLINE living in nearby Shelby County, Indiana who could possibly be an older son.

It is highly likely MATTHIAS was married previous to EVE, and had several children with his previous wife. EVE may have been previously married as well.

There was an ABRAHAM CLINE born abt 1797 in Pennsylvania who remained in Bracken County, Kentucky, and who may have been a son of MATTHIAS' from a previous marriage (EVE would have been age 11 at the time of his birth). The 1850 Bracken Co Kentucky census shows ABRAHAM with a son named MATTHIAS G CLINE.

MATTHIAS & EVE were both born in Maryland, which means that their respective parents probably came down the Old Wagon Road from Pennsylvania in the 1750s, settling possibly in Washington or Frederick County, as so many German immigrants did during that time period.  It is possible that MATTHIAS was born in or near Hagerstown.

The fact that one of their older sons JOSEPH was born in Pennsylvania, and that the other possible son from 1st marriage ABRAHAM CLINE was also born in Pennsylvania, had me scrambling to see which communities in Pennsylvania were near Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, and then scouring census records.

I did find a MATTHIAS CLINE of correct age living in Shippensburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (not far from Hagerstown MD) in the 1800 census, showing a couple age 22-44, one son age 16-25, one daughter age 16-25, and two sons under 10. This appears to be the only time period that this MATTHIAS CLINE was living in Shippensburg; he is not in previous or subsequent census records.

Clearly, lots more research needs to be done on this family! But at least records have helped to separate the two different men with the same name!


Be well, be safe, stay home & research on!


Betty

© Betty Tartas  2020

Two Different Men With Same Name: Part One MATTHIAS CLINE of Bedford Co Pennsylvania

One of the fortunate parts of sheltering in place  during this time of coronavirus is having many hours to devote to genealogy research!  So for the past six weeks, I've been taking research requests from friends & family.

I was asked to research the ancestry of MATTHIAS CLINE, father of Dr JACOB ALONZO CLINE b 1822 Bracken Co Kentucky, who was married twice, 1st to REBECCA HARVEY  1 June 1843 in Rush County, Indiana, and 2nd to MARY DEMPSEY 1871 in Montana.

Practically the only document or clue relating to this MATTHIAS CLINE is a newspaper article written in 1931 Rush County Indiana about MATTHIAS'  son CONRAD "COONROD" CLINE, who also was born in Bracken Co Kentucky, and also was a resident of Rush County, Indiana.

The article states that MATTHIAS CLINE, father of CONRAD CLINE, was "of Bedford County, Pennsylvania".

Sure enough, there was a MATTHIAS CLINE of the correct age who lived in Bedford County, Pennsylvania up until his death in 1846.  He married PHOEBE SOLEY, daughter of THOMAS SOLEY, 21 September 1794 in Perkiomen Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

And as I dug deeper into this person and his family, several facts emerged which clearly show that this MATTHIAS was not the father of CONRAD CLINE and Dr JACOB ALONZO CLINE.

Fact One: This MATTHIAS CLINE, born about 1770,  never lived in Bracken County, Kentucky.  He is in census records from 1800 until 1840;  in Belfast Township in 1800, but in  Dublin Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania 1810-1840.

Fact Two:  This MATTHIAS CLINE left a will dated 21 Aug 1845, which does not name his wife, but does name his children:

--WILSON L CLINE
--MATTHIAS CLINE Jr
--JESSE M CLINE
--JOHN DAVIS CLINE
--ELIZA, wife of PETER KUHN

His will does not include CONRAD or JACOB.

However, the will does mentions his sister BARBARA, indicating that if she bequeathed any real estate, money or property, that it was to be divided equally between his children.




The mention of a sister owning land really piqued my interest. It was not common in 1846 for a woman to own land unless she had inherited it from either her husband or her father.  Could she have been unmarried?  I began wondering if I could find this sister BARBARA, and whether or not she also migrated from Montgomery County to Bedford County Pennsylvania.

First off, I wanted to find out who MATTHIAS CLINE's parents were, if I could, to see if I could find a will which named both MATTHIAS and BARBARA.  I started by searching early census records to see exactly which CLINEs were living in Montgomery County at about the time that MATTHIAS married PHOEBE SOLEY.

I eventually narrowed the search to a MICHAEL CLINE born about 1750, who was of the correct age  to be MATTHIAS' father and who lived in Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania from about 1785 until 1807.

Fortunately, the US Genweb site for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania had a good selection of will abstracts, and low & behold!  I found MICHAEL CLINE's 1807 will:

Wife not mentioned; children of my son HENRY; children of my son MATTHIAS; sons PETER & JOHN; daughter BARBARA to have 3 acres of land.  

Later I found a copy of the original will



This definitely seemed to be the correct BARBARA,  mentioned both in MATTHIAS CLINE's 1846 Bedford County Pennsylvania will and in  MICHAEL CLINE's 1807 Montgomery County Pennsylvania will!  But I wanted a little more proof.

With a little further investigating, I found BARBARA CLINE in the 1850 census Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, an unmarried woman age 66, with 3 other unmarried women in household, likely boarders.  Her brother PETER CLINE  lived nearby with his family.

Rarely do I get this lucky with genealogical research!  The key factor in my success with this family was that both MICHEAL CLINE and his son MATTHIAS CLINE remained in the same location for 40-50 years, and both left detailed wills. BARBARA CLINE & her brother PETER CLINE lived in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania all their lives, and BARBARA CLINE never married. Apparently BARBARA did leave a will, but I have yet to find a copy.

But this research raised the question: if this MATTHIAS CLINE who died 1846 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania was not the father of CONRAD CLINE and Dr JACOB ALONZO CLINE, both born in Bracken County, Kentucky, then who was?

Stay Tuned for Part Two!


Be well, be safe, stay home & research on!


Betty

© Betty Tartas  2020