It isn’t often that the destroyed 1890 U.S. census has put a crimp in my research, but it happened when I tried to identify all the children of William H. Bandy (1839-1890) and Sarah Elizabeth Howard (1842-1916) of Ohio and Kentucky.
The issue was the fact that, in 1900, Sarah reported to the census taker that she had given birth to thirteen children, with ten still living:
Through earlier census records, I could identify Mary Alice, James A., Darinda J., George H., John E., Lucy C., Sylvester C., and Abigail, all born between 1864-1878. Eight children in total by 1880, so I was missing FIVE children.
I also found no trace of James A. or Sylvester G. after 1880 and assumed that they were two of the three children who died young. Lucy, born c1872, died c1895 in Pike County, Ohio. she married Joshua T. Branham c1894. Cause of death is unknown, but given the timing, she may have died in childbirth. In any case, James, Sylvester and Lucy appeared to be her three dead children.
The 1900 census, seen above, included two more children – Henderson, born in May 1882 and Stella, born in August 1886. Now, ten of her children were identified, but who were the other three, apparently born between 1880 and 1900, but who weren’t at home in 1900?
My next stop was the FamilySearch family tree.
That helped some as Wallace Bandy, born in December 1880 was listed with a death date in 1941 and a daughter, Helen, was listed, born 1884.
Enough was found about Wallace Bandy, including his death certificate, to establish that he was, indeed, a son of William and Sarah Bandy.
The 1900 census showed a Hellen Bandy, born January 1884, in Precinct 1, Sandy Hook, Elliott, Kentucky, the same Precinct where Sarah and her other two children were living.
It was reasonable to assume that Helen was a daughter, perhaps out and working as a servant because her father was dead and the family needed money. However, I had no definitive proof.
By this point, I had identified Mary Alice, James A., Darinda J., George H., John E., Lucy C., Sylvester G., Abigail, Wallace, Henderson, perhaps Helen and Stella with James, Lucy and Sylvester as the three deceased children.
That made 12 out of 13 children. Was Helen really a daughter and who was the missing child? Aside from a six year old grandson of Louis Jarrell in Elliott County, Kentucky, and “Hellen Bandy,” the 16 year old servant, there were no other Bandys in Elliott County aside from Sarah, Henderson and Stella.
There was always the possibility that the unknown child died young and either James or Sylvester was still living, but had moved out of the area.
For the moment, I decided to set aside that mystery and continue to document William and Sarah’s known children.
Henderson Bandy and his life of crime turned out to be the key that unlocked the mystery of the unknown child. A Bandy cousin contacted the Ohio Historical Society to obtain Henderson’s prison records.
One of the pages in his file was a pardon dated 20 January 1925:
Note the family information half way down the page – parents William and Sarah, both dead. SIBLINGS!!!!! George, John and Wallace plus Rendia (Darinda), Stella, Helen, Abbie, Alice (Mary Alice) and, last, but not least – Mrs. Ollie Skinner, #1155, N. Wall St., Columbus, Ohio.
This document confirmed that both Wallace and Helen were children of William and Sarah AND provided not only locations, but also married names for all of Henderson’s living children.
Although the pardon was dated 1925, this form was likely created on 10 July 1919, the day Henderson entered the Ohio State Penitentiary.
While “Ollie” might have been Henderson’s brother-in-law’s name, short for Oliver, his other married siblings were all identified by their given names, not as Mrs. John (etc) . . . . so Ollie might have been short for, say, Olive.
Next, I looked for the 1919 Columbus, Ohio city directory:
There is an Ada Skinner boarding at the exact address as Ollie Skinner in 1919 – 1155 N. Wall Street. So, Henderson’s sister was perhaps Ada Olive Bandy or Olive Ada Bandy.
Backtracking, I found A. Olive Skinner in Columbus in 1917, living at 210 E. Mound in Columbus:
Hmmm. There is no Ada Skinner in Columbus in 1920! And, this Ada was gone from the 1920 city directory, too.
However, an interesting entry popped up for an Olive Skinner in Columbus in 1920. She was in the Columbus jail, Precinct K:
Olive Skinner, PRISONER, aged 39, married, born in Ohio with both parents born in Ohio, no occupation listed for any of the prisoners. The age is probably off slightly unless Olive was a twin and she was probably born in Kentucky since it seems only her three eldest siblings were born in Ohio. Further, while her father was born in Ohio, her mother was born in Kentucky. Prisoner Olive is married, but I’ve not found her marriage record. I am assuming she married as a teenager in Elliott County, Kentucky, which is a burned county and there are no surviving marriage records for the 1890s.
I can’t find an Ada or Olive Skinner in 1900 either, so there are no clues as to who her husband might have been or whether or not she had children.
Olive Skinner isn’t exactly a common name in that area or that time period and I believe this is Henderson’s missing sister.
What happened to Ada Olive (Bandy)Skinner? Well, she reappears at the same address as Olive Skinner in 1925:
And as (Mrs) Ada O at the same address in 1929:
And in 1930 and 1931, although not found in the 1930 census:
It’s not until 1932 that a new clue appears. We now have Addie O (wid Reuben) fctywkr, still living at 1155 N. Wall Street in Columbus:
This brings a new problem in terms of Ancestry links to Addie O. Skinner, widow of Reuben. Because Henderson’s prison record names his sister AND gives her exact address in Columbus, I have to believe that this 1932 entry (which is repeated in 1933) is correct.
By the way, there are no Skinners living in Elliott County, Kentucky in 1900 or 1910.
The issue is that Ancestry links this Addie to one Reuben Skinner who lived in Perry, Hocking, Ohio in 1910. This Reuben married Ada Olive Strawn on 3 September 1893 in Hocking County. This Ada Olive is too old be to Henderson’s sister unless she was a baby bride. By 1910, Reuben and Addie had five children at home. Further evidence that this is the wrong Reuben Skinner lies in the fact that his gravestone says he died in 1946.
By 1934, the U.S. is deep into the Depression and Ada Olive Skinner disappears from the Columbus city directories.
What happened to this somewhat mysterious Ada Olive Skinner? I have to wonder if she was divorced since she had to have married in her young teens and no trail to her purported husband Reuben Skinner has been found. . . I’d also venture to say she may not have had any surviving children. How long she lived after 1933 is also a mystery.
That brings to a close my somewhat convoluted research on the family of William H. Bandy. It took some digging and I’d love to know more about Ada Olive Bandy’s life, but I am confident I have correctly identified the 13 children of William and Sarah (Howard) Bandy.