Have you ever come across a record which you know fits into your family puzzle, but you’re not sure how?

Take a look at this 1870 census listing:

This is a very unusual household for the time when compared to other homes:

Cary, Ann, 50, Keeping House 1500-150, born Michigan
High, Elias, 37, Farmer, 0-575, born Ohio
Smith, Mary, 37, Domestic Servant, born Ohio
Smith, Clarey, born April 1870, born Ohio
Vincent, Martha, 8, Attending School, born Ohio
Vincent, Benjamin, 4, At Home, born Ohio
High, Fannie, 3, At Home, born Ohio
Watson, Hester, 28, Domestic Servant, born Ohio
Watson, Charles, born March 1870
Watson, Charlotte, born March 1870

Since Mary and Clara Smith are in the home, the next door neighbors – Sampson and Margaret Smith – are also included in this image since Mary is of an age where she might be their daughter.

I had seen this family earlier in my research and recognized various surnames, but after completing the family sketches of Jacob Stufflebeam’s (1777- after 1840) children in Pickaway County, I was able to identify, I think, most of these people.

First, notice Ann Cary, aged 50, born in Michigan. I have to wonder if her age is low by a few years and if she is not Martha (e.g. Martha Ann) Stufflebeam, who in 1850 reported that she was born “Lake Erie.”

In 1850, her birth year was reported as 1816, which makes sense. Also, Martha married (1) Nimrod High, who died in the 1840s and then married (2) Peter CAREY in 1857, both in Pickaway County. Peter died in 1861.

Lake Erie does border New York and the Stufflebeams were originally from New York. My first thought was that they stopped for a while in the Buffalo area before moving on to Ohio. However, if they traveled the lake, they may well have stopped in Michigan for a short time before moving south into Ohio.

In any case, I do believe that Ann Cary is actually Martha Ann (Stufflebeam) (High) Carey.

Next, we have Elias High, 37. His age is close to the 1850 census household where widowed Martha was head. He was her second oldest child. Elias married (1) Crissann Henman, 17 April 1861, Pickaway County, Ohio and she appears to have died before 1870 as she isn’t found in any later record.

It seems reasonable to assume that Fannie High, aged 3, might be the daughter of Elias and the deceased Crissann. If so, then Fannie is a grandchild of Martha Ann’s.

Next, we have Martha and Benjamin Vincent, aged 8 and 4 years.

Nimrod and Martha’s daughter Mary, born c1837, Ohio; married Benjamin Vincent, 9 April 1858, Pickaway County, Ohio. Neither is found after 1860. It is also reasonable to hypothesize that Martha Vincent was named for her grandmother and Benjamin for his father. Their parents, Mary and Benjamin, likely both died in the 1860s.

Last enumerated are “Hester” Watson and her twin babies born in March 1870. “Esther” Watson, daughter of Jacob Watts/Watson and Eleanor Stufflebeam was born c1840 and would be the niece of Martha Ann (Stufflebeam) (High) Cary.

Being an unmarried mother of twins was not socially acceptable in 1870 which might explain her living with her aunt particularly since her parents aren’t found after 1860 and might have died before 1870.

That accounts for everyone in the home except for Mary Smith. The 1850 census does confirm that Sampson and Margaret Smith had a daughter Mary, aged 18 at that time. Supposedly, Sampson’s daughter Mary died in 1857. However, FindAGrave has no gravestone photo, just the details that someone has added to the listing. Mary who died in 1857 may or may not be Sampson’s daughter. There are a number of Mary Smiths in Pickaway County around that time period.

It seems more than coincidental that Mary Smith in Ann Cary’s home is right next door to Sampson’s home in 1870.

Regardless, whether Mary in Ann’s home is his daughter or not, she doesn’t appear to be related to everyone else in the home. Clara’s father is unknown and she isn’t found in the 1880 census.

Today’s methodology tip is to be sure to follow up with odds and ends fund in your research. You never know which document might be the missing piece to a puzzle.

In this case, the census enumeration revealed two children likely born to Benjamin and Mary (High) Vincent, a likely child born to Elias and Crissann, twins born to Esther and little Clara Smith, born to Mary.

Martha Stufflebeam was the last of the children born to Jacob Stufflebeam and his unidentified wife. She was born c1815 and gave an interesting response to her birthplace on the 1850 census – Lake Erie!

That helps narrow down when Jacob Stufflebeam arrived in Ohio – between 1815-1820. Michael Stufflebeam’s son married in Pickaway County in late 1815 so it might be that the group arrived en masse in late summer or early fall of that year.

Martha Stufflebeam married (1) Nimrod High, 21 August 1827, Pickaway County, Ohio. It doesn’t seem like anyone really looked for her after Nimrod’s death in the 1840s and the 1850 census, but Martha married (2) Peter Carey, 19 August 1857, Pickaway County, Ohio. Peter died in the early 1860s.

Martha is last found in the 1860 census. If she married again, the record hasn’t been found. However, I am wondering if she was Martha Ann because there is an Ann Cary at home in 1870 in Pickaway County with an assortment of people in the home not named Carey. More on that later.

Martha had no children with Peter, but Nimrod and Martha were the parents of five children.

Children: (High)

1. Hiram, born 23 December 1830-1831, Ohio; died 17 January 1898, Vermilion County, Illinois; married Sarah Cooksey, 19 September 1858, Pickaway County, Ohio. They were the parents of eight children.
2. Elias, born February 1834-1836, Ohio; died after 1900, probably in Cleveland County, Oklahoma; married (1) Crissann Henman, 17 April 1861, Pickaway County, Ohio (2) Catherine Harness, 9 October 1871, Vermilion County, Illinois. Crissann appears to have died young, perhaps after giving birth to daughter Fannie, c1867. In addition to Fannie, Elias and Catherine had six children, three of whom were living in 1900.
3. Sarah, born c1835, Ohio; died 15 January 1915, Madison County, Ohio; married John Michael, 13 January 1859, Pickaway County, Ohio. John had two children by a previous marriage, but he and Sarah also had two children. In 1900 and 1910, Sarah reported that she had given birth to ten children, but only three living. I can only account for two daughters – Ida, born c1860 and who appears to have died by 1870 and Sarah, with whom she was living in 1910.
4. Mary, born c1837, Ohio; married Benjamin Vincent, 9 April 1858, Pickaway County, Ohio. Neither is found after 1860. Benjamin perhaps died in the Civil War and their two likely children were living in another household in 1870 (to be discussed in the next post)
5. Izelda, born 14 February c1840, Ohio; died 5 April 1919, Franklin County, Ohio; married Henry Perigo, 1 May 1860, Franklin County, Ohio. They were the parents of nine children, six living in 1900 and 1910.

This concludes the family sketch of Nimrod High and Martha Stufflebeam and the sketches of all the grandchildren of Jacob Stufflebeam and his unproven wife.

On Monday, we’ll look at an 1870 census record and the family clues it provided for this branch of the Stufflebeam family.

Eleanor Stufflebeam was the seventh child and fourth daughter born c1809, New York to Jacob Stufflebeam and his unknown wife. Ellen, as she was later known, probably had few memories of New York as her family moved to Ohio c1815.

Eleanor Stufflebeam married Jacob Watts/Watson, about January 1826, Pickaway County, Ohio. The clerk kindly forgot to record the date on their marriage record, but it was placed with January 1826 records.

Jacob’s marriage record calls him Watts and he is enumerated as Jacob Watson in the 1830 census, but as Watts in the 1840 census of Darby, Pickaway, Ohio.

However, by 1850, Jacob and Ellen went by only by Watson even though their son, Jacob, who also lived in Darby, was enumerated as Jacob Watts. In later censuses, he was also called Watson.

They were the parents of six children. The birth order of the first three children is uncertain because their ages changed slightly in each record. There was one male under five and one female under five in 1830, so it’s possible that Margaret wasn’t born until c1830 or 1831.

Children: (Watts/Watson)

1. Jane, born c1826, Ohio; died between 1900-1910, probably Pickaway County, Ohio; married William Armentrout, 17 August 1843, Madison County, Ohio. They were the parents of twelve children.
2. Margaret, born 15 September 1827, Ohio died 19 August 1915, Pickaway County, Ohio; married James B. Eagleston, 18 April 1846, Pickaway County, Ohio. They were first cousins as James was the son of Sarah Stufflebeam, sister of Eleanor Stufflebeam. They were the parents of seventeen children, nine living in 1900.
3. Jacob, born c1829, Ohio; died after 1880, possibly in Champaign County, Illinois; married Sarah Ann Grove, 28 January 1849, Pickaway County, Illinois. They were the parents of five children.
4. William, born c1834, Ohio; died after 1860 when he was at home with his parents and unmarried. No further record.
5. Esther A., born c1840; died after 1850. She appears to be the “Hester” Watson living with Ann Cary in Darby, Pickaway, Ohio in 1870 with twin children, Charles and Charlotte Watson, born March 1870.
6. Henry, born c1842; died 10 July 1918, Columbus, Franklin, Ohio; married Emily Swank, 25 September 1863, Pickaway County, Ohio. They were the parents of six children, four living in 1900.

This concludes the family sketch of Jacob Watts/Watson and Eleanor/Ellen Stufflebeam of Pickaway County, Ohio.