Elizabeth Ellen Harbaugh Ickes and Adam Ickes - Sidney, Nebraska Part 2

The only picture I can formulate in my head of the Ickes family arriving in Sidney for some reason involves dirt.  Lots and lots of dirt.  

Union Pacific Rail Yard in Sidney, 1877

Historians show two different locations for Adams store as shown and described in the photos below.

1887-1890 -  Ickes and Barr Dry Goods Store on the South side of 2nd Street
(what is now the intersection of 10th and Illinois Streets).
The Sidney Land Office was located upstairs.

Wow!  It's amazing this photos exist!  This is most likely the store Adam bought from Sam Kelner.  It would have been located in what is now the Sidney Historic Business District. All of the wood frame buildings were eventually torn down and replaced with brick buildings.  I did some research to try and figure out who "Barr" could be in "Ickes and Barr" and here's what I came up with.  There's only one man by the name of Barr in Sidney listed in the 1885 Nebraska State Census. He was William Barr, age 23, from Pennsylvania.  He was single.  I could very well see Adam and William meeting and comparing notes about growing up in Pennsylvania. Or perhaps William was one of the three men who had worked for Sam Kelner prior to Adam buying the store. What makes this theory more compelling was a newspaper search that turned up several articles about the William Barr Dry Goods company that came to Omaha in 1888.  So here's how it might have worked: Adam took William on as a partner, especially early on when he needed to be out at the homestead on weekends. After a few years, when William decided to move on, son Horace, who had been working in the store, was old enough and had enough experience under his belt to take over William's responsibilities. (Knowing the outcome, I think William got out at the right time.)  Apparently he became very successful in the big city. So far that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Omaha Daily Bee
1 July 1888

Omaha Daily Bee
11 August 1889

1900 - Adam Ickes' dry goods store stands on the southeast corner of Front and Rose Streets.
Electric poles run along north side of the dirt road.

I'm not exactly sure the details listed with this photo are completely accurate.  It's probably dated 1900 because of the electric poles shown in the photo, but Adam was no longer living in Sidney in 1900.  I don't have any information that he sold his store and bought a smaller one, although when the Union Pacific Railroad expanded and Sidney's businesses began serving only the local community and no longer the travelers, prospectors, and gold seekers the huge profits quickly dried up.  I guess someday I'll have to make a trip to the Cheyenne County courthouse, check out the actual deeds, and figure all this out once and for all.

On the 10 Nov 1884, Adam applied for a homestead claim.

Under the provisions of the Homestead Act of 1862, 160 acres of free land was available to U.S Citizens (or those who had entered the country legally and planned to become US citizens) over the age of 21.  Applicants had to be heads of their household (if married, then only men would qualify as married women were not legally able to own property) or single women.  They had to physically reside on the property for a minimum of 5 years and make improvements or they would lose it.  The intended purpose of the land was to cultivate and farm.

Adam's claim, described as Township No. 14 North, Range No. 52 West of the 6th Principal Meridian, South 1/2 of the Northeast 1/4 of Section 6 and lots 1 and 2, was 19 miles northwest from the town of Sidney.  The Union Pacific Railroad crossed through the southern portion and it may have had a creek running across the southwest corner (if it contained water). Today, it would include the western portion of the town of Potter, Nebraska as well as the Prairie Pines Golf Course.

According to Adam's homestead documents, Adam began making improvements to the land with the construction of a house in May of 1885 which he claimed to have built by himself. It was a frame house, 14' X 21', one story, 2 rooms, with 2 windows and 3 doors.

The 1885 Nebraska State Census, which was taken in Sidney in June, showed that Adam and Ellen's oldest son, John, and his family also moved from Pleasantville and were living next door to them in Sidney.  (Having grandchildren nearby had to have thrilled Ellen indeed!) The occupations of the neighbors on the page indicated that they were all living somewhere in town.  Further, John listed his occupation as a carpenter.  If the house was constructed in May, no doubt John had a hand in it.

In July 1885 John applied for his own homestead claim, but it was on the other side of Sidney from Adam's claim, probably more than half a day's horse and wagon ride away.

From the homestead documents there's no way to know what is factual and what is part of the numbers game that's necessary to meet the requirements to receive full ownership of the land. Claimants were required to provide testimonies of witnesses to corroborate the facts, but Adam's testimonies of witnesses, as well as John's, were completed in their own handwriting and merely signed by their hand-picked witnesses.  

From what Adam claimed, his wife and daughter moved into the 14' x 21' house on 18 September 1885, 4 months after the house was built. Perhaps they needed time to complete some of the other improvements listed: a stable, a corn crib, a chicken house, a water closet (outhouse), a well pump and trough, fencing, and a root cellar.  Of course, since this paperwork was filled out at the end of the almost 5-year waiting period any number of those things could have been added at any time. Adam stateed that he "usually" came home on Saturday and remained until Monday. I'm not real sure about that.  Probably, early on, if there was construction to do or supplies to deliver that may have been true. It would have taken him at least 2 hours each way on horseback or more than 3 hours each way pulling a wagon full of supplies.  To Adam, time is money, and doesn't the acquisition of money seem to be the primary reason he's in Sidney in the first place?  I can't see him being away from the store more than he absolutely had to. I think once the basic amenities at home were completed coming home "occasionally" or more like "once a month at the most" would probably more accurate.  (I try not to think about all the many "brothels" in town that Horace referenced and wonder if their presence affected Adam's need to visit his wife.)

Modern-day historical studies of homesteaders on the great plains tell us that isolation and loneliness were their biggest challenges. By the 1880s Indian attacks were few as the US Government had successfully been able to keep most Indian tribes confined within their reservations. In Nebraska, swarming insects, high winds, dust storms, tornadoes, and other extreme weather conditions were always problems for homesteaders. Ellen and Allegra would have dealt with all of those things - mostly on their own.  They were isolated and alone.  I can't find anywhere in any of the history books that the town of Potter had a public school in the mid-1880s, so Allegra probably quit attending public school once she left Pleasantville.  I find that quite disturbing given Adam's past emphasis on education. 

I'm overwhelmed when I look at the number of animals Ellen was required to manage on a daily basis: 3 cows, 1 calf, 80 chickens, 4 turkeys, 7 ducks, and 1 dog. Her household amenities were rustic and few: a cook stove, a folding bed, a cot (for Allegra), a sink, 2 tables, 6 chairs, 1 sewing machine, a clock, and some cooking utensils. Trying to keep the dirt and dust out of the house would have been a never ending task. I imagine she had to try to keep the prairie grass cut down around the perimeter of the house to minimize invading insects - backbreaking work at the very least.  I'm sure there were chores and hardships I can't even imagine.

A very small portion, 10-20 acres depending on the year, of Adam's 160 acre claim were actually farmed.  At least Ellen didn't have that responsibility.  One of Adam's homestead witnesses, John Peterson, was his neighbor.  It appears Adam hired him to do the farming.

Whenever there are free government programs there are always oportunists trying to take advantage of them. Unfortunately, I would place my 2nd great-grandfather, Adam Ickes, among those people.  It seems he did the bare minimum to qualify and "tweaked" his answers so as not to disqualify himself. Apparently he could not be employed in any other business or risk being disqualified. Since he owned his own business, technically he was not "employed". He didn't actually live on the land full-time, but he parked his wife and daughter there despite their extreme isolation and hardship. He didn't do any of the actual farming - he hired it out. Of the 160 acres in question, an extremely small portion was actually cultivated and farmed. The witnesses didn't even fill out their own paperwork, they merely signed their name. And I'm not the only one who found this questionable...

Omaha Daily Bee
17 June 1890

But ultimately Adam prevailed.  On 4 August 1890 he was awarded his Land Patent from the General Land Office of the United States of America.

While Ellen and Allegra were roughin' it on the farm, life wasn't always peachy for Adam.  An election and a banking scandal was about to rock his world and, according to his daughter, Alle, "ruin him financially".  To use that ever popular farming lingo, sometimes we really do "reap what we sew".

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Elizabeth Ellen Harbaugh Ickes and Adam Ickes - Sidney, Nebraska Part 1

It was May of 1884 when Adam, 40,  along with his family, Ellen, 41, Horace, 16, and Allegra, 12, moved almost 1,500 miles away from their native Bedford County Pennsylvania to the western frontier town of Sidney, Nebraska.

I don't know if Adam knew about Sam Kelner's dry goods store being for sale before he left or if he just got lucky and was able to make the deal after they arrived. Sam Kelner was a Hungarian immigrant who first settled in Columbus, OH and then worked in the dry goods business in St. Louis, Laramie City, and finally in Sidney from 1877. Apparently it was time for him to move on again. The Sidney store was 72' X 21' and was stocked mostly with clothing, shoes, boots, caps, hats, etc. Sam had employed three men.

Sidney, Nebraska was founded by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1867 as a military outpost to protect the railroad against the threat of hostile Indians.  The town grew up around the barracks and Sidney soon defined what we would call the wild, wild west. Up until 1882 it was referred to as "Sinful Sidney" and the "Wickedest Town in the West" as lust and lawlessness were pervasive.  Sidney was the closest shipping point on the Union Pacific Railroad line to the gold discovered in the Black Hills and Deadwood.  Sidney had seen the presence of legends like Wild Bill Hickock, Calamity Jane, Doc Middleton, Buffalo Bill Cody, Butch Cassidy, and Jesse James.  Lynchings, murders, and hangings were uncontrolled as the sheriff at the time was as corrupt as they come.  The Molly McGuires and the Irish Mafia ran the town and contributed to the crime spree.

The town serviced its customers:  gold seekers, freighters, soldiers, cowboys, desperadoes, and criminals.  It was reported that as many as 80 saloons and numerous gaming halls, brothels and even the world's first 24-hour theater dotted Sidney's Front Street along the tracks.  And let's not forget that, among other reputable businesses, there was Sam Kelner's dry goods store on Front Street as well. Though much of the commerce was immoral and debauch, it was indisputable, however, that there was lots of money to be made. 

The largest gold robbery in the history of the US occurred in Sidney in 1880. (It remains unsolved even today.) As a result, the Union Pacific Railroad threatened to pull out, a move which would inevitably bankrupt the town. A vigilante group of local business owners composed and distributed a document titled, "Get out of Sidney Forever!", rounded up the 16 baddest of Sidney's bad boys and set out to hang them on the courthouse lawn.  With one criminal hanging from a tree, it was reported that over 200 of Sidney's shadiest characters fled the town, and thus began the two-year clean-up of Sidney's days of unchecked crime and corruption. An important point to note: although the criminal activity may have left the area, the abundance of immoral and debase local businesses, however, did not.  Even son Horace would later write that Sidney had "27 saloons and dance halls and no churches".  (He must have counted them.)

I'm giving Adam the benefit of the doubt and assuming he had no way of knowing the horrific criminal history of the small, western town to which he relocated his family.  Maybe Adam needed an adventure.  Perhaps he was bored with the quiet, mundane life in Pleasantville as it was just too....pleasant.  Most definitely he was looking to expand his wealth and he had heard that Sidney was just the place to do it.  And maybe he wanted to be out from under that controlling, overbearing father of his and venture out on his own.  It didn't much matter how the rest of the family fared as a result of the move because the culture at that time dictated that the male head of the household  made all of the decisions based on the outcome that he deemed important.  That's what patriarchy is and that's how patriarchy works. But enough about that. I promised to tell Ellen's story.

In May of 1884 Ellen left behind the only homeland she ever knew.  I don't know if she had to say goodbye to her mother as there is simply no available documented evidence as to when her mother died. Since her father died before she was born, Ellen had learned through her mother to rely on extended family for sustenance and support. She had Callihans and Reiningers and Harbaughs and others, I'm sure, whom she called family. Her son, Horace, later wrote of many happy memories at great-grandfather Robert Callihan's house, sledding at great-uncle William Reininger's farm, and walking 2 1/2 miles through the woods to church with grandmother (Ellen's mother).  Soon those would all be distant memories.

Ellen's Callihan cousins. Everyone over the age of about 15 would have been alive when she left Pleasantville.
Photo courtesy of callihanfamilyresearch.org and Donald M. Callihan

Ellen also said goodbye to her beautiful Pleasantville.  Pleasantville was a small town, but she lived in the heart of it. She had friends and neighbors a stone's throw away whom she would never see again.  Even in 1884 she had modern conveniences the likes of which would not be seen in Sidney, Nebraska for years to come.

She left two grown sons, though both  would actually travel west themselves.  And she left the graves of two baby boys she never had the privilege to raise.  For this dutiful wife, the day she left Pleasantville had to have been a very, very sad day.

The homesteaders came to the great plains from places far and wide, hoping the free farm land would be their ticket to financial solvency. They were primarily new American immigrants, former southern slaves, and even single women grasping at their last hope for success.  Adam came to profit off of them.  Although the Homestead Act of 1862 was never meant to benefit those already financially stable, at some point Adam also decided to join them.  I wouldn't have known this except for finding 33 pages of homestead documents with his name on them. Of course, he and son Horace had a respectable business to run in town, so the 160 acre homestead (much like the one in the photo below), 19 miles from Sidney, became the primary responsibility of Ellen.  Here, in frightening loneliness, Ellen raised Allegra, miles from outside conversation, void of transportation, constantly dirty and working to exhaustion in the harshest and most primitive of circumstances. Adam visited occasionally. Details to follow.

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Living the Dream: A Culture of Patriarchy

When I embarked on the extensive project of transcribing and archiving all of Adam Ickes' writings (more about that later), I became so impressed with a couple of things he wrote concerning the value and place of women.  How did he, I wondered, escape the culture that so freely and fully invaded every nook and cranny of society from the beginning of time?  Men could dare to dream, to explore, and to venture beyond what was expected and familiar.  Women, however, (despite very few exceptions) existed only for the pleasure and comfort of men. 

One aspect of patriarchy and male entitlements involve the type and the division of labor between husbands and wives.  That didn't seem to be a problem for my early Bedford County ancestors.  As poor, hard-working immigrants, manual, back-breaking labor for both partners defined their occupations. Husbands and wives, moms and dads, both, equally, worked hard providing for themselves and for their families. They worked from sun up until sun down, and probably then some. The men worked in the fields as the women worked in and around home.  It was, by necessity, a cooperative effort.  And it paid off. For the most part, each generation acquired more wealth and security than the one previous.

If I had to guess, I would say it was probably my 3rd great-grandfather, Conrad, who first settled into a real posture of modern patriarchy. Shortly after the death of his first wife (and mother of his children) he remarried.  He placed all the work of his two farms on the backs of tenant farmers and retired to a house in town.  HE retired, but I'm 100% sure his wife did not.  All of the traditional women's roles of the day would have been expected of her on a daily basis, and she, I have no doubt, was quick to oblige. Studying his last will and testament, he kept tight reigns on his assests, leaving his wife for the most part only that which she brought into the marriage, and dictating his wishes concerning other aspects of his estate long after his death.  He wielded all the power and the control, of that there was no doubt.

Adam (Conrad's son) was not suited to follow the profession of his forefathers.  Farming was just not his thing. He valued education.  He loved learning!  It's so evident in everything he writes.  He referenced brilliant scholars and philosophers in so many of his essays and speeches.  He quoted them in such thoughtful and meaningful ways.  He was very well read. His career began as a teacher of children while a teenager himself.  Following his time in military service he served as a director in the school system and the superintendent of the Sunday School at the local Lutheran Church, indicating to me that inspiring others to pursue learning was of utmost importance to him.

Apparently, though, being a teacher and and scholar just didn't pay the bills.  His natural knack and interest in merchandising complimented his scholarly endeavors.  It enabled him to wear the clothing of a gentleman rather than that of a laborer.  He could continue to pursue his interests and indulge in the few finer things the small community of Pleasantville had to offer.  Ellen's life, however, probably didn't change much.  Unless a man could find his way into wealth, influence, and power, providing his wife with domestic help and high-end living, her life still revolved around the menial and tiring tasks of 19th century living.  And she had very little choice in the matter.  It was her lot in life.  

Throughout my personal family history, this pattern of men living the patriarchal dream - being free to pursue their interests and vocations however and wherever they choose - on the backs of submissive wives stuck in traditional household roles began with Adam and continued through the generations.  I won't delve into any of the details, but suffice it to say the non-questioning willingness of my youth to buy into the notion that "this is the way it is" and "this is the way it's supposed to be" and my feelings about it now are not one in the same.  I will add, however, I see progress - great, noticeable progress. 

Back to the first paragraph of this post.  Adam's writings often sang the praises of women.  As a Civil War veteran he gave many Memorial Day speeches and he wrote several versions of exactly the same speech.  In what I think was the last and final Memorial Day speech he gave he added a special tribute to the womens' contribution to the war effort.  It was beautiful and it had even greater meaning to me which I'll share in a subsequent post.  In another essay entitled "Dress" he wrote,

What multitudes of young women waste all that is precious in life on the finified fooleries of the toilet. How the soul of womanhood is dwarfed and shriveled by such trifles, kept away from the great fields of active thought and love by the gewgaws she hangs on her bonnet.  Woman was made for a higher purpose, a nobler use a grander destiny.

Her powers are rich & strong; her genius bold and daring, she may walk the fields of thought, achieve the victories of mind, spread around her the testimonials of her worth, and make herself known and felt as man’s co-worker & equal in whatsoever exalts mind, embellishes life, or sanctifies humanity.

(The second paragraph was actually not his own though he failed to provide a proper citation.  A quick google search told me that it came from: Weaver, G. S..  Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women.  p 52. New York: Fowler and Wells, 1856. Google Books. Web. http:/books.google.com.)

Although he writes and proclaims his co-equality with women - that they should be given every opportunity to expand and explore, to think and achieve - that does not appear to be his lived experience.

From my last writing of Adam and Ellen they were living comfortably in Pleasantville PA.  Having both grown up there, they were surrounded by loving, extended family with deep connections of history and belonging.  I'm at a distinct disadvantage as I attempt to imagine the motivation and the repercussion that moving away from Pleasantville had on them as I really have no way of knowing for sure. But I'm going to imagine anyway. And I'm going to imagine it from a female perspective. And I'm going to do that because right now, at this particular point in time, my heart is turned away from Adam and is turned toward my 2nd great-grandmother, Ellen.  I'm speaking for her in a way she could never speak for herself.  I really don't care if I'm right or if I'm wrong.  I'm just going to tell the story the way that I see it and that I believe it to be from my 21st century feminist perspective. Because I'm not going to continue to use the culture of the past to explain away and to justify wrong doing.

As Adam ripped Ellen away from her beloved home and family, the vile and repressive culture of patriarchy reared its ugly head, robbing her of everything she held dear. It was Adam, not Ellen, looking for opportunity to expand and explore. It was Adam, not Ellen, positioning himself to achieve his own fame and fortune at Ellen's expense. For years and years he left Ellen virtually abandoned and completely void of any semblance of enrichment or self-fulfillment. The amount of hard labor he piled on her while he attended to his professional and civic duties I would consider exploitative and inhumane. Ellen endured. Ellen survived. But enduring and surviving doesn't equate with happiness. Ellen deserved a lot better. And now to tell her story...

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Adam Ickes and Elizabeth Ellen Harbaugh Ickes, Pleasantville

Up until now I've written about Adam and Ellen's Bedford County ancestors. I've finally worked my way down to Adam and Ellen themselves. They, along with their son, Horace, were the last of this branch of my ancestry to be born in Bedford County Pennsylvania. 

Just to review, Adam came from three paternal generations of Bedford County farmers.  His Bedford County roots began with his great-grandfather's land grant received for services rendered in the Revolutionary War. Adam was born and raised on his father, Conrad's, farm in West St. Clair Township. But farming didn't seem to flow through Adam's veins as he was much more of a natural born scholar.  Adam began his professional career as a school teacher. In fact, if the history books are correct, he could have begun teaching in the public school system as young as age 14 or 15. 

Schoolhouse near Pleasantville where Adam may have taught

In December of 1863, when he was 18 years old, he married Elizabeth Ellen Harbaugh.  Quite a bit was written about Ellen in my previous post about her mother, Elizabeth Callihan Harbaugh. Ellen was about a year and a half older than Adam. Their first child, John Elmer, was born 7 months following their marriage. (You can jump to your own conclusions.)

  

Just 3 months after the birth of John Elmer, Adam enlisted as a substitute in the Civil War.  From what I understand, by early to mid 1863 both the Union and the Confederate Armies had to instigate a draft system in order to maintain their troops.  A system was put into place that if a man of means was called up through the draft and did not want to serve he could pay another man to serve in his place.  The fee of $300 was mentioned with regard to this type of transaction as was an amount as high as $1000.  By way of comparison, $300 would be equivalent to more than $4300.00 today. I have no idea how much Adam was paid to act as another man's substitute in the war effort, but the money he received was probably instrumental in facilitating his first of many business ventures following the war.  I also don't think the decision for him to act as a war substitute was at all an easy one as Ellen's brother was a casualty of the Civil War just a few days prior to the birth of their son. As the mother of a 3-month old infant, sending her husband off to war had to have scared Ellen to death. 

Adam was mustered into military service for the Union Army, 91st Pennsylvania Infantry on 7 October 1864 at Chambersburg, PA by Captain Boyle.  He was a private in Company I.  His enlistment papers described him at 5'8" tall with a fair complexion, gray eyes, and light hair.

Among the family memorabilia Aunt Alle passed down to my dad, and then my dad passed down to me, were two buttons from Adam's Civil War uniform.

Aunt Alle's handwriting

Adam was a very prolific writer and later wrote in detail his "Reminiscences of the War" which I'll include in a subsequent post.  Suffice it to say here that he became part of the highly esteemed Army of the Potomac and fought in many major battles.  Though we don't know exactly where Adam was stationed, his Infantry and his Company were at the Appomattox Courthouse on 9 April 1865, the day Lee surrendered to Grant.  It was his 20th birthday. Adam was honorably released from military service on 6 July 1865 and began his march home.

When he returned home he resumed his teaching career.  But according to his daughter, Allegra, his career soon took a drastic turn. In April of 1867 he partnered with N.H. Wright who owned a mercantile business in the borough of Pleasantville. By 1868 he had bought out Mr. Wright's store. He later bought a store from T.P. Beckley, also in Pleasantville.  The Beckley store building had living quarters attached where he and his family resided.  He could have acquired even more property, as the 1877 Pleasantville map actually shows A. Ickes in three different locations in Pleasantville, one of them directly across the street from his father, Conrad.

Although he was no longer actively teaching, he didn't abandon education completely.  The history books indicate that with the incorporation of the borough of Pleasantville in 1871, he was one of the directors of the school system. His daughter wrote that he was a charter member of the Pleasantville Lodge #868 Independent Order of Odd Fellows and that he was very active in church work, serving the local Lutheran congregation as the organist and the Superintendent of the Sunday School.  In one of his essays (which I'll write more about later) he mentioned a literary society to which he belonged.

In the meantime, Adam and Ellen added more children to their family.  Conrad Stanton was born in 1866, Horace Bunn (my great-grandfather) in 1868, Sheldon Ross in 1871 who lived 3 months, Henry Beecher in 1872 who lived only 3 days, and finally a daughter, Allegra, born in 1873 (who lived to be 104).

Adam and his family seemed to have it all.  The war was long over. Adam  was a successful independent business owner. They were financially stable. Wasn't this, in complete actuality, living the ultimate American dream? Wasn't this exactly what Adam's great-grandfather, John, fought for as a Revolutionary War Patriot and what John's great-grandparents hoped for when they left their native Germany? Apparently Adam didn't see it that way. His dream wasn't quite yet realized. In 1884 Adam would make a decision that would ultimately change his family dynamic for generations to come in very profound ways. His motivation, I can only surmise, was a combination of a sense of adventure, a pursuit of even greater wealth, the thrill of risk taking , and it had to include a certain amount of naiveté.

Pleasantville was a tiny, conservative borough that serviced a local farming community.  Adam, as a local small business owner, serving on the school board, participating in church leadership, and being active in local social organizations  probably realized that was all that Pleasantville would ever be able to offer him.  (From my impressions of the town, not much has changed even today.) I don't know how he found out about Sam Kellner and his dry goods store in Sidney, Nebraska, but the Ickes family would embark on a new life only akin to five generations previous who left the Palatine region of Germany for a better life in the New World. What in the world was he thinking?

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Jonah Harbaugh and Elizabeth Callihan Harbaugh

Jonah and Elizabeth are two of my ancestors who leave me with many more questions than answers. I do know that death and heartache were profound elements of Elizabeth's life.

Jonah had a twin brother named after their father, John. His mother, Rachel, was a Quaker.  I don't know exactly how involved Jonah was with the local Quaker congregation, but his body was buried in the Quaker cemetery near Fishertown in Bedford County.  

Elizabeth was the 4th oldest of 14 children. She was an active member of the Dunkard church. In her later years she enjoyed bringing her grandchildren to church with her.

Jonah and Elizabeth were married sometime before 1840. Their son, George, was born probably around 1841 or 1842. On 4 July 1843, Jonah died, making Elizabeth a very young widow and single mother.  The first of many tragedies in her life.

To complicate things even more, their daughter (my 2nd great-grandmother), Elizabeth Ellen, was born exactly 2 months following Jonah's death. A little less than 2 years later, Elizabeth's mother died.  Think about that - as a very young widow raising 2 small children on her own, Elizabeth lost her mother. 

As I try to put myself within the culture of the day, I would think that extended family was just kind of a given and was, I guess, completely ubiquitous. Almost everyone, it seems, was within spitting distance of extended family members of some type or another.  That's not to say that those closest to you are somehow diminished or less important by any means, but at least there was always some type of back-up plan should ultimate tragedy occur.  This had to provide some kind of comfort and support.  At least, I would like to think so.

If you remember from previous posts, Elizabeth's mother was a Reininger and had married a Callihan. The Callihan and Reininger farms were adjacent to each other. 

As the families grew and the farms expanded, additional homes and dwellings would be built within close proximity to each other.  US census records can help tell the story and put some of the pieces together.  The 1840 census shows Jonah Harbaugh and his wife living among the Callihans and the Reiningers.

It was during the 1840s when Elizabeth lost her husband.  By 1850 she and her children were living apart. Elizabeth was living with her Uncle George Reininger and Aunt Susan in a house on the Reininger farm.  Aunt Susan was a Harbaugh, though I don't know if or how she was related to Elizabeth's deceased husband, Jonah. Also living in the house was Elizabeth's younger sister, Sarah, who was only 2 yrs. old when their mother died, as well as a young farm hand.

Elizabeth's 2 children, George and Ellen, were living with Jonah's parents, John and Rachel Harbaugh.  I don't know why Elizabeth didn't have her children living with her, I don't know how far away her parents were (though it wouldn't have been more than a few miles), and I don't know how often she saw them. I just hope this was an arrangement that was, for whatever reason, good for everyone.

By 1860 Elizabeth was living next to her brother George and his family.  Her daughter Ellen is living with her.  (The census taker didn't get their last names quite right, but no doubt this is Elizabeth and her daughter.)

By 1860 son George would be in his very early 20s.  There's a George W. Harbaugh listed in an 1860 census in Frederick, MD with some other Harbaughs from Pennsylvania.  He's working as a farmer. I'm not convinced at all that this is Elizabeth's son, so I'm not exactly sure where he was in 1860. 

I do know the 1860s were a very eventful and tumultuous time.  The 12th of April 1861 brought the beginning of Civil War. We don't know the exact date, but at some point in the early 1860s Elizabeth's son, George, enlisted in the Union Army. In December of 1863, her daughter Ellen married Adam Ickes. She was probably already pregnant on her wedding day.

On the 11th of July 1864 Elizabeth's son George died from wounds he had received in battle at Petersburg, VA on 16th of June. He was buried at Hampton National Cemetery, Hampton, VA. 

Just 7 days following her son's death (but probably prior to her being notified that her son had died), her first grandchild was born.  John Elmer Ickes, son of Ellen and Adam, arrived in the world on 18 July 1864.

But as the war between the states continued it further affected the family.  In October of 1864 son-in-law Adam enlists as a substitute in the Union Army.  Thankfully, on 6 July 1865  Adam is honorably discharged from service and returns home sometime afterward.

At some point during the 1860s Elizabeth marries a man with the last name of Smith. The marriage is somewhat short-lived as either Mr. Smith dies (which is most likely) or something else happens to dissolve the marriage.  We believe this to be the case because by 1870, as shown in the census, Elizabeth is living with her daughter Ellen and family in Pleasantville. 

Elizabeth was living with Ellen's family when Ellen gave birth to a son, Sheldon Ross, in Jan of 1871, who died less than 3 months later.  She was also there when Ellen gave birth to a son, Henry Beecher, in March of 1872, who died when he was just 2 days old.

The 1880 census shows Elizabeth still living with daughter Ellen and family in Pleasantville.

That's the last known record of Elizabeth Callihan Harbaugh Smith.  There is simply no record of her to be found after 1880.

In 1884 Adam moved his family to Nebraska.  I know from what Adam's daughter Allegra (Aunt Alle) recorded as well as documented evidence from Nebraska State census records that Elizabeth did not go to Nebraska with them.  

Elizabeth and Ellen didn't have a mother-daughter relationship in which the daughter cut the apron strings and pursued a life of her own away from everything parental.  These women's lives were closely intertwined through birth and death and war and uncertainty and heartache and loss. I can't imagine, after all that Ellen and Elizabeth had been through together, that Ellen would ever consider moving a lifetime away and not taking her mother with her if she were still alive.  Elizabeth must have died after 1880 and prior to 1884.  I just can't believe anything else.  But I really wish I knew for sure.

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John Harbaugh and Rachel Hammond Harbaugh

There's a story posted on ancestry.com concerning John Harbaugh.  It originated with a Cyrus Harbaugh who recorded it in 1930. It goes something like this:

Somewhere between the years 1780-1785*, a family of Harbaughs, traveling west through Bedford County by wagon, stopped at Thomas Griffith for a rest probably on account of sickness. They left two of their children (John and Sophie) there, saying they would come back after them. They never returned. It is speculated that they were killed by Indians or met death in some other way. Mr. and Mrs. Griffith raised these children at his home near Fishertown. Sophie married Amos Penrose. John was a miller by trade lived at the Blackburn Mill. He married Rachel Hammond.

 It was determined that the father of the family passing through Bedford County was Peter Harbach of Berks County, PA.  In 1946 this information was passed on to Cyrus who indicated that he was related to that Harbach family and, as a young man, would travel to Berks County to visit his cousins.

  *John was born in 1781 and his sister, Sophia, was born in 1782, so if this story is true it would have had to have happened after 1782.

This could or could not be true as there are several ways to look at it.  The Griffiths were active members of the Quaker community in Bedford County.  If two very young children were left in the Griffith family's care and were ultimately abandoned by their parents, the Griffiths family couldn't very well leave them home unattended while they went off to their monthly church meeting. The Harbaugh children could very well have been raised Quaker and had become fully converted to the Quaker faith.  They were certainly immersed in the culture. Afterall,  the Blackburn family, one of whom owned the mill where John was employed and lived, were long-time Quakers.  The Hammonds, the family from which John would find his future wife, were prominent members of the Quaker community as well.  The problem comes, though, when we learn that John was not a member of the Society of Friends at the time of his marriage.  We know this from the minutes of the Quaker records indicating that Rachel Hammond had married outside the faith. 

Dunning's Creek Monthly Meeting 16 July 1806

"Complaint being brought from the women's Meeting against Rachel Harbaugh, late Hammond, for

accomplishing Marriage with a Man not a member of out Society before a Person holding the

Commission of a Justice, and they requesting the Company of some Men[allen] Friends in a Visit

to her:  John Thomas and Jonathan Bowen are appointed to that Service and to report to next Meeting."

"At Dunning's Creek Monthly Meeting held the 13th of the 8th Month 1806
the Representatives being present.

"The Friends appointed to unite with Men[allen] Friends in a Visit to Rachel Harbaugh report
they had a opportunity with her and she appeared very desirous to condemn her misconduct
and retain her right among Friends, for which purpose she produced a Paper of Acknowledgment
to this Meeting condemning her outgoing which was read and accepted."

"To Dunning's Creek Monthly Meeting to be held the 13th day of the 8th Month 1806.

"I the Subscriber having had my Birthright amongst the People called Quakers,
but for want of a strict adherence to the Dictates of Truth have given was to a
libertine Spirit so far as to be joined in Marriage with a Man not a Member of our
Society, - for which I am sorry and wish Friends to continue my under their Care
hoping in future to live a more circumspect Life.

"Rachel Harbaugh"

Of course, it's even more complicated than that.  We also know from Quaker church records that his sister, Sophia, married Amos Penrose within the Society of Friends.  She was a member of the church in good standing and Amos was very prominently mentioned in the church records multiple times.There's no indexed church record showing John's disfellowshipment.  He may or may not have been a member in good standing previous to his marriage.  We just don't know for sure.  

The most credible resource to verify the validity of this story was to figure out the relationship between Cyrus and John.  Among John and Rachel's 9 children was a set of twins, John and Jonah, born in 1817.  Jonah was my 3rd great-grandfather.  Cyrus (actually named John Cyrus) was the 2nd youngest son of John Jr., which would make John Sr. his grandfather.  Cyrus was born in 1860 and John Sr. didn't die until 1870, so Cyrus very well could have heard the story first-hand from his grandfather himself.

The history books indicate that the Blackburn grist mill (where John was employed) was a log building with a frame addition added in 1839. It was located in Springhope, a small borough near the southern edge of East St. Clair Township. It was erected by Joseph Blackburn and subsequently operated by Thomas W. Blackburn and George W. Blackburn. Contrary to the history books, an obituary for Anna Border Cuppett published in the Bedford Gazette on 15 March 1901 states that it was her great-grandfather, Thomas Blackburn (my 6th great-grandfather), who erected the grist mill in Springhope in 1770.

We didn't make it down to Springhope, nor is there any record indicating the burial places of John and Rachel.  Apparently he didn't even leave a will, making John and Rachel's story quite incomplete.

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The Mothers

My great-grandmothers virtually had no voices.  Most of them never owned property and they left no wills.  If they were not the head of the household (which is the case for all of my great-grandmothers) their names were not listed on any US census records prior to 1850.  Any information we would have about them would have come from family, church, or cemetery records.

All of my Bedford County great-grandmothers were farmers' wives, though a couple of the later ones were able to branch out of the farm life.  We can't hear their stories from their mouths, but we can consider the words of other farmers' wives during similar times and in similar places:

"As a class, farmers’ wives are expected to do more work than any other housekeeper.  We do our own washing, ironing, taking care of the milk, meat, chickens, which women of other callings do not.  We do our own sewing, making over an infinite number of old clothes to save the expense of new ones."

"There are compensations to living on a farm anywhere, and particularly here, that I am sure no other hard way of earning one’s living brings; but it is hard, and oh! The needlessness of it is the hardest part to bear!  It is not what money brings that I or any other sensible person wants, but just to do a reasonable amount of useful work and then a chance to lift one’s eyes and thoughts above the daily grind."

"I happen to be married to a man who considers it an unpardonable crime for a woman to sit down to read or study, or to take a minute to rest."

"I weigh 120 pounds.  I milk seven or eight cows night and morning; run a separator (device which separates cream from milk); get breakfast, dinner, and supper; do all of the washing and cleaning; do most of the garden work and rake in some haying.  I feel very good most of the time, only when I get too tired I have a headache and pain in back of my neck.  I mend, read, and such, but I don’t have much time to rest."

"Many farmers’ wives are despondent.  I think some are so despondent as not to care to put forth enough energy to even lift the head.  What causes the state of affairs?  Is it the treadmill?  Is it lack of society?  Is it poor food?  Is it poor clothes? – good clothes are a moral support it is said.  Is it unappreciated toil?  Is the farmer so much among animals that he comes to regard his wife as a beast of burden?  I have been five years trying to answer these questions.  I hesitated years before consenting to marry a farmer because I saw that these things were so and I could not tell why."

"I will try and tell you some of my experiences and what a woman can endure. I was married when twenty years old, went to keeping house the first of July. [We soon] found plenty of bugs. Of course there wasn't much rest for many nights. I would take everything outdoors and'sweep it down from top to bottom and then scald the logs and then whitewash them and so on. We lived that way for nearly twenty years."

"I was married at nineteen and then my farm life began in earnest .. . I would always rise in the morning at four or half past, winter and summer, and have built my own fires, milked from four to eight cows, prepared the breakfast and had it at six. I always did my own churning, and many are the books of poems, histories, stories and newspapers I have read while churning .. . I have always done my own washing and weaving of carpets as I have a large house and it is furnished with rag carpets. . . . One summer I piled up one hundred cords of wood and did my own housework. . . . Not many modem wives would think they could pull flax, cut corn, dig potatoes and do all things on a farm as we used to."

"I used to say that I could select the farmers' wives from a crowd of women of all classes. They seemed to have a sort of hopeless spiritless look." 

"Before leaving your bedroom, open [the] window and put your bed to air. Be sure to ask divine help to carry you through the day. Have your breakfast well on the way the night before. Clear the table and wash [the] dishes right off; don't let them stand to dry or call flies. Sweep and dust; clean lamps. Then do chamber work. Prepare dinner. . . . Can you tell me how to do this and at the same time crowd in the care of milk from five cows, churning twice a week, baking for seven in [the] family, attending to poultry, washing, ironing, mending, sewing, etc., etc.? I must confess I don't know how to do it and keep sweet-tempered as a wife and mother should. God alone knows I would like to be able to do it."

"I am a farmer' s wife, sixty years old today . Thirty-one years I have spent on an isolated hilltop, with work, work, work, and starved for something to read." (from http://tcpl.org/local-history/documents/ithaca-tc/women-roots/lifestylesp19-27.pdf)

And from another source describing the family life of early colonial America:

"By the mid-1700s, across the American colonies . . . travelers described Americans as coarse-looking country folk. Women and girls kept their hair covered with hats, hoods, and kerchiefs. Colonials made their own clothes from linen (flax) and wool; every home had a spinning wheel and a loom, and women sewed and knitted constantly, as cotton cloth would not be readily available until the nineteenth century. Plentiful dyes like indigo, birch bark, and pokeberries made colorful shirts, pants, dresses, socks and caps.

 "Americans grew their own food and ate a great deal of corn—roasted, boiled, and cooked into cornmeal bread and pancakes. Hearty vegetables like squash and beans joined apples, jam, and syrup on the dinner table. Given the poor quality of water, many colonials drank cider, beer, and corn whiskey—even the children! As cities sprang up, cattle drank beer, yielding a disgusting variant of milk known as “swill milk” that propagated childhood illnesses.

 "Infant mortality was high, and any sickness usually meant suffering, and often, death.  Women, expected to bear between five and 10 live children, could anticipate a dozen pregnancies. Bodies wore out fast, and women aged rapidly. Overall life expectancy hardly tells the tale of the everyday life, where work was hard, the most minor sicknesses potentially life-threatening, and pleasures few. 

"Despite the reality of this coarse life for common folk, it is worth noting that by 1774 American colonists already had attained a standard of living that far surpassed that found in even most of the civilized parts of the modern world." (from http://www.patriotshistoryusa.com/teaching-materials/bonus-materials/everyday-life-in-america/)

I calculated the average statistics of my 18 Bedford County great-grandmothers for whom I have information. They were an average of 21 years old when they gave birth to their first child.  They had an average of 8 children each over a period of 17 years.  This is actually a very generous estimate as odds are they had far more miscarriages, stillbirths, and cases of infant mortality than what was written down and recorded.  Their average age of death was 69.  By contrast, the average age of their husbands' death was 77.

They were tired.  Overworked,  Exhausted.  And broken.  Let's call it what it really was. Their primary roles were that of work horses and baby-making machines.  They sacrificed themselves - their essence and very identity - for the welfare of others. Some appear to have had a few years of rest toward the end of their lives. Others worked hard every single day. And then they died.  The more children they had, especially boys, the more farm help they provided their husbands.  But more children added even more to their own overwhelming work load. I imagine they had no choice in the matter. The men owned everything else and probably claimed ownership to their wives bodies as well.  Something meant to be tender, loving, and unifying could easily become one of these women's greatest sources of dread and loathing. And the heartache.  The incomprehensible heartache with the premature death of a little one.  It happened far too frequently, and I can't imagine the pain ever lessened. 

Here's my tribute to my Bedford County great-grandmothers.  As much as I appreciate and admire my great-grandfathers' contribution to colonization, the war effort, and evolving affluence, their commitment and sacrifice pale in comparison to the lived experiences of their wives.  Help me honor them by thoughtfully reading each of their names as you carefully consider the implications of their life's statistics: 

My 2nd Great-Grandmothers

Elizabeth Ellen Harbaugh Ickes

first documented child born when she was 20 years old

at least 8 births in 12 years

she died at age 75

Elizabeth Ellen Harbaugh Ickes
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California

       

son Sheldon Ross Ickes
died at age 2 1/2 months
Hoover Cemetery     

son Harry Beecher died at age 2 days

place of burial is unknown

       

My 3rd Great-Grandmothers

Elizabeth Lingenfelter Ickes

first documented child born when she was 21 years old

at least 8 births in 19 years

she died at age 50

Elizabeth Lingenfelter Ickes
Hoover Cemetery

daughter Mary Ann Ickes died at age 4 months (her first born)

buried in an unmarked grave, Hoover Cemetery

son William Ickes
died at age 17 years
Hoover Cemetery

       

daughter Mandilla Ickes
died at age 12 years
buried next to her mother, Hoover Cemetery

son John Clayton Ickes died at age 11 months

buried in an unmarked grave, Hoover Cemetery

       

Daughter Eliza Virginia Ickes Wilt
died at age 19 years, 1 1/2 months after giving birth
Pleasantville Cemetery

     

   

Elizabeth Callihan Harbaugh

first documented child born when she was about 18 years old     

at least 2 births in 4 years

her age at time of death is unknown

her place of burial is unknown

son George Wisegarver Harbaugh died at age 25 years (killed in Civil War)

place of burial is unknown

My 4th Great-Grandmothers

Mary Haverstock Ickes

first documented child born when she was about 21 years old

at least 12 births in 24 years

she died at age 65

Mary Haverstock Ickes
Old Union Cemetery

Elizabeth Wisegarver Lingenfelter

first documented child born when she was 21 years old

at least 12 births in 30 years 

she died at age 60 

Elizabeth Wisegarver Lingenfelter's broken headstone
Horn United Methodist Church Cemetery

son George Lingenfelter died at less than 1 year of age

Horn United Methodist Church Cemetery

daughter Rachel M Lingenfelter died at age 18 years

Horn United Methodist Church Cemetery

son David A Lingenfelter died at age 1 year

Horn United Methodist Church Cemetery

daughter Sarah Ann Lingenfelter died at age 6 years

Horn United Methodist Church Cemetery

Elizabeth Wisegarver Lingenfelter's broken headstone surrounded by
smaller, unmarked headstones which could be marking her
deceased childrens' graves

          

Rachel Hammond Harbaugh

first documented child born when she was 24 years old

at least 9 births in 16 years

her age at time of death is unknown

her place of burial is unknown

Margaret Reininger Callihan

first documented child born when she was 17 years old

at least 14 births in 27 years

she died at age 47, 2 1/2 years after her last recorded birth

Margaret Reininger Callihan
Mock Dunkard Church Cemetery

My 5th Great-Grandmothers

Maria Elizabeth Stambaugh Ickes 

first documented child born when she was about 25 years old

at least 5 births in 10 years

she died at about age 73

Maria Elizabeth Stambaugh Ickes
Old Union Cemetery

Margaret Reighard Haverstock

first documented child born when she was about 18 years old

at least 8 births in 22 years

she died at about age 84

buried in an unmarked grave

Mount Eaton Lutheran Cemetery, Wayne County OH

Elizabeth Blackburn Wisegarver

first documented child born when she was 24 years old         

at least 11 births in 17 years

she died at age 72

her place of burial is unknown

daughter Eve Wisegarver Griffith died at age 25 years (probably died giving birth)

her place of burial is unknown

Rachel Blackburn Hammond  

first documented child born when she was about 25 years old

at least 8 births in 19 years

she died at age 70

her place of burial is unknown

Mary Proctor Callihan

first documented child born when she was about 28 years old

at least 6 births in about 14 years

she died at about age 84

Mary Proctor Callihan
Callihan burial ground

Mary Hine Reininger 

first documented child born when she was about 21 years old

at least 11 births in 25 years

she died at age 71

Reininger Cemetery

My 6th Great-Grandmothers

Maria Imler Reighard

age at first documented birth is unknown

at least 3 births in about 6 years

age at death is unknown

place of burial is unknown

Mary Elizabeth Steel Wisegarver

age at first documented birth is unknown

at least 4 births in 12 years

age at death is unknown

place of burial is unknown

Elizabeth Griffith Blackburn

first documented child born when she was 24 years old

at least 9 births in 18 years

she died at about age 74

buried in an unmarked grave in Friends Cemetery

Deborah Dicks Hammond

first documented child born when she was about 22 years old

at least 6 births in 16 years

her age at time of death is unknown

place of burial is unknown

Rebecca Harlan Blackburn

first documented child born when she was about 18 years old

at least 13 births in 26 years

she died at age 44 giving birth to her 13th child

place of burial is unknown

"...no love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child."   Jeffrey R. Holland


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