John McDowell was born ten years too soon. In 1840 he was married (evidently) and living with his wife and two daughters in District 8 of DeKalb County, Tennessee. DeKalb County had just formed from White County and other counties in the previous year. I noticed that John's brother Smith McDowell and Nancy Dildine were married in 1838 in White County, Tennessee and their marriage record survives. John and Hester were possibly married a few years earlier based on the age of their oldest child in 1840, but there is no record of their marriage. I'll contact the Archivist in White County; the records were probably lost.
District 8 was the section of DeKalb County that had Fallingwater River on the SE and Caney Fork River to the west. Eventually, the eastern part of District 8 was taken by Putnam County when it was formed in 1854. So the McDowell family seemed to live in the wedge of land that was in three different counties in the 1800s. The land was in White County first, then DeKalb County, and finally Putnam County in 1854. That is what it looks like until I find another land document that shows a purchase of land somewhere else in DeKalb County.
John was "born too soon" in the genealogical sense. In the 1850 census every person began to be listed by their name, age, and place of birth. If John and Hester were a young couple in 1850, we would have the names of everyone in the house and know when and where they were born. Since John was living next to Andrew McDowell, we could find out if Andrew was born in South Carolina or in Tennessee, and, of course, have an easier time tracking down Andrew's widow and children after his death.
John McDowell seems to be Andrew's oldest son. First, he was named after his grandfather. Second, John is the only "McDole" next to Andrew; there are no other brothers nearby living on their own land. Also, John's probable brother, Smith McDole, lived past 1850, and in the 1850 census Smith states that he is 30 years old. So John is likely the oldest of the two boys born between 1815 and 1820, and tallied in the 1820 census.
Here are some of the other names in the 1840 census with Andrew and John:
[The age bracket of the oldest male is given. Ages were ticked off in a 10 year range, 20-29 for example.]
James McDonel ? 50
Richard Harris 30
Isum Cole 30
William Rice 40
James Roberson 15 and under 20
James Willis 15 and under 20
William Jones 20
Pleasant Farler 40
Hannah Elrod 20
Nathan Vincent 20
Jane Mcdole 20
Britton Medly(sic) 10 and under 15; oldest female 20
Riley Medley 30
Hiram Childress 40
Charity Childress 70
Nancy Anderson 30
Henry Waddle 50
John Roberson 50
William Lafferty 40
Andrew Mcdole 10 and under 15
John Mcdole 20 and under 30
John Lafferty 30
Asa Thompson 20
William Burton 30
Gibson Billings 20
In the home of John Mcdole, John and his wife are 20 and under 30; the children are girls with one girl under 5 and the other 5-9. As I said in the blog I wrote just previous to this one, the two children are probably Emmeline at 1 year of age and an older sister.
Evidently, John and Hester lived on in Tennessee for the next several years, based on the age and birth dates of their children. If the gestation period was 38 weeks (I'm a retired science teacher) before Nancy Ann McDowell was born, John was still alive at the end of April, 1849. What happened after that is a mystery.
I began searching for John McDowell about 1999. I have looked for men named John McDole or McDowell born in Tennessee between 1817 and 1820. (Legal documents appear to place Andrew as being born in 1799, and Andrew had two sons in 1820. Marriages seemed to have been common between teenagers. So, if Andrew got married at 17 or 18, John was probably born between 1817 and 1819.) I have searched in particular in Missouri and in Tennessee for signs of John, either dead or alive, but have not found him.
However, I have found a death record of an Unknown McDowell in DeKalb County in December 1849. Not all the information is recorded, possibly because he died of smallpox. I don't think the person recording the information wanted to stay around long enough to get all the facts. The Mortality Index says:
McDowll (sic), No Name Given... DeKalb Co. TN ...M...Dec...Small Pox
There was no age given and no place of birth. Of course, I cannot prove this was John, but it is a possibility of how and when he died.
Hester, John's widow, did not live until the 1880 census when she would have said if she was a widow. However, she died in 1879, so her death is in the Mortality Index for 1880. It indicates she was a widow. So we know John was dead by time he was 60, we just don't know for sure when and where he died.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
JOHN McDOWELL, HESTER's Husband?
You might wonder why the postings have been arranged in this order. In general, I have placed them chronologically in the order in which I found the information. First, I knew that Nancy Ann McDowell was born in Taney County, Missouri on January 19, 1850. I had that one family Bible fact. Once I found her as a baby with her mother in 1850, I could see the McDowell family was still there in 1860. I could surmise that Nancy Ann and family were in Mills County, Iowa by 1864 so that she could marry George Hamaker. So the bigger mystery was, where did Nancy Ann's mother and father come from, and what was her father's name?
I have no exact proof of Nancy Ann's father being John McDowell. I have various overlapping facts that point to John McDowell being the father, and John's father being Andrew McDole or McDowell. I know the family name is McDowell, it's just that at a certain time and in a certain place, Andrew seemed to favor McDole. More details later. There are documents that say Andrew is the son of another John McDowell because John died in White County, Tennessee and left various estate-settling papers behind. Andrew was one of the administrators of John McDowell's estate. More about Andrew later; this is about his son John.
John shows up under his own name in the 1840 census in Dekalb County, Tennessee. He lives next to Andrew McDole, which supports the idea that he is Andrew's son.
In John McDole's house
There is one male 20-29 years old. John
There is one female under 5 years old. Emmeline
There is one female 5-9 years old. Who is this?
There is one female 20-29 years old. Hester
In 1840 Hester was 21 years old, and John was in his twenties. The female 5-9 years old could possibly be their daughter, born when Hester was 15 or 16. The girl could also be another relative; for years I thought she might be Tersie Thompson and that Tersie was Hester's youngest sister.
It seems quite obvious that John and Hester could have had other children besides Emmeline, Owen, James, and Nancy Ann. If they had been married about 1837 when Hester turned 18, John and Hester could have had a child in 1838, 1840, 1842, 1844, 1846, 1848, and 1850. Of course, they could have had more children, but to have 4 children in 13 years of marriage is fewer children than usual. So I am inclined to believe this is another child of their marriage.
I have no exact proof of Nancy Ann's father being John McDowell. I have various overlapping facts that point to John McDowell being the father, and John's father being Andrew McDole or McDowell. I know the family name is McDowell, it's just that at a certain time and in a certain place, Andrew seemed to favor McDole. More details later. There are documents that say Andrew is the son of another John McDowell because John died in White County, Tennessee and left various estate-settling papers behind. Andrew was one of the administrators of John McDowell's estate. More about Andrew later; this is about his son John.
John shows up under his own name in the 1840 census in Dekalb County, Tennessee. He lives next to Andrew McDole, which supports the idea that he is Andrew's son.
In John McDole's house
There is one male 20-29 years old. John
There is one female under 5 years old. Emmeline
There is one female 5-9 years old. Who is this?
There is one female 20-29 years old. Hester
In 1840 Hester was 21 years old, and John was in his twenties. The female 5-9 years old could possibly be their daughter, born when Hester was 15 or 16. The girl could also be another relative; for years I thought she might be Tersie Thompson and that Tersie was Hester's youngest sister.
It seems quite obvious that John and Hester could have had other children besides Emmeline, Owen, James, and Nancy Ann. If they had been married about 1837 when Hester turned 18, John and Hester could have had a child in 1838, 1840, 1842, 1844, 1846, 1848, and 1850. Of course, they could have had more children, but to have 4 children in 13 years of marriage is fewer children than usual. So I am inclined to believe this is another child of their marriage.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Who was TERSIE THOMPSON?
1860 Census Campbell Township, Taney County, Missouri Family 450
1870 Census Campbell Township, Douglas County, Missouri Lawrence, William...53...Farmer...Kentucky " Nancy...44...Keeping house...Tennessee Broomfield, Alice...20...Missouri " William R....3/12 b. Mar...Missouri Thompson, Tersie...23...f...Tennessee
Tersie is a nickname for Teresa. She is in three census records with Nancy Bozarth Lawrence--1850-1870. However, she is not with Nancy in 1880. Hoping that Tersie had married, I searched through the 1880 census for her name paired with the right birth information. I have searched for Tercie everywhere in 1880 and found a few married women named Tersie who were born in Tennessee about 1839. However, the data did not fit. Once it appeared I had found her in Tersie Roark. However, Tersie and John Roark were already married and parents in 1860 when my Tersie was still at home.
I now believe Tersie is Nancy's daughter. I don't know if Nancy was married or not when Tersie was born, so I don't know Nancy's maiden name right now. For 5 years I thought Nancy and Hester were Thompsons. Right now the only firm fact I have is that Tersie was a Thompson. In Tennessee in 1840, Hester and her husband, John McDowell, lived near an Asa Thompson family with a young man and woman (20-29 years old) and one little girl. I need to see if this is Asa, Nancy, and Tersie, but it will be very hard to find out because Asa evidently died as a young man before the 1850 census. He is so young that he would not have been listed in the 1830 census.
When was Tercie born? In 1850 she is listed as being 11; in 1860, she's 18 and in 1870 Tersie is 23. So her possible birth years are 1839, 1842, or 1847. I'm going to estimate she was born in 1839 because people are more aware of the age of a young child than a young woman.
William Lawrence...43...m...Kentucky Nancy Lawrence...30...f...Tennessee Elizabeth Lawrence...18...f...MO Margaret Lawrence ...16...f...MO Randolph Lawrence...13...m...MO Rachel Lawrence...11...f...MO Allis Lawrence...9...f...MO Nancey Lawrence...6...f...MO Francis Lawrence...4...f...MO Sarah Lawrence...74...f...VA Tierce Thompson...18...f...Tennessee
1870 Census Campbell Township, Douglas County, Missouri Lawrence, William...53...Farmer...Kentucky " Nancy...44...Keeping house...Tennessee Broomfield, Alice...20...Missouri " William R....3/12 b. Mar...Missouri Thompson, Tersie...23...f...Tennessee
Tersie is a nickname for Teresa. She is in three census records with Nancy Bozarth Lawrence--1850-1870. However, she is not with Nancy in 1880. Hoping that Tersie had married, I searched through the 1880 census for her name paired with the right birth information. I have searched for Tercie everywhere in 1880 and found a few married women named Tersie who were born in Tennessee about 1839. However, the data did not fit. Once it appeared I had found her in Tersie Roark. However, Tersie and John Roark were already married and parents in 1860 when my Tersie was still at home.
I now believe Tersie is Nancy's daughter. I don't know if Nancy was married or not when Tersie was born, so I don't know Nancy's maiden name right now. For 5 years I thought Nancy and Hester were Thompsons. Right now the only firm fact I have is that Tersie was a Thompson. In Tennessee in 1840, Hester and her husband, John McDowell, lived near an Asa Thompson family with a young man and woman (20-29 years old) and one little girl. I need to see if this is Asa, Nancy, and Tersie, but it will be very hard to find out because Asa evidently died as a young man before the 1850 census. He is so young that he would not have been listed in the 1830 census.
When was Tercie born? In 1850 she is listed as being 11; in 1860, she's 18 and in 1870 Tersie is 23. So her possible birth years are 1839, 1842, or 1847. I'm going to estimate she was born in 1839 because people are more aware of the age of a young child than a young woman.
Monday, December 13, 2010
HESTER McDOWELL's Family in TANEY COUNTY, MO in 1860
In the 1860 census in Campbell Township, Taney County, Missouri, Hester was living on her own place with her sons and Nancy Ann. Teirce Thompson was living with Nancy Bozarth and Nancy's new husband, William Lawrence. Hester and Nancy both lived in Campbell Township, and their Post Office was at Prior's Store. Incidentally, William Lawrence was Postmaster at Prior's Store 3 January 1856. He served for one year. Emmeline McDowell and Levi Bozarth had married in Taney County in 1857.
[Note: in 1864 Campbell Township became part of Douglas County, Missouri.]
The census says:
Dwelling House 439
Hester McDowel...40...f...$800...$206...Ten
Owen McDowel...16...m...Farm hand...Ten...attended school within the year
James McDowel...11...m...Ten..attended school within the year
Nancy McDowel...10...f...Mo
Hester's next door neighbor is Joseph Bozarth from Tennessee. He has a son named Levi who is listed as being 15. Hester's oldest daughter, Emmeline McDowell, has married a different young man named Levi Bozarth. Both Levi's are grandsons of Levi Bozarth of Tennessee who lived in White and then DeKalb Counties in Tennessee where the McDowells also lived.
The expert on Emmeline McDowell and Levi Bozarth is their descendant Judy Young. We got in touch through GenForum in 1999. I just looked at some of the old posts. Judy was very generous with her information, and we shared pictures. She had a website at that time, but yesterday I could not find her site. I did find several people on Ancestry had copies of her photograph where she has a picture of Emmeline and Nancy Ann beside each other so you can see the resemblance as they got older. Another researcher who is very generous is VirJean Potter Bozarth. She made sure I found out who Nathan Bozarth was. [Nathan was a son of the elder Levi Bozarth mentioned above. Nathan was born about 1816 in White County, Tennessee. One source says he died about 1853. It seems like he and Nancy had no children; there were no young Bozarths living with Nancy in 1860-1880.]
[Note: in 1864 Campbell Township became part of Douglas County, Missouri.]
The census says:
Dwelling House 439
Hester McDowel...40...f...$800...$206...Ten
Owen McDowel...16...m...Farm hand...Ten...attended school within the year
James McDowel...11...m...Ten..attended school within the year
Nancy McDowel...10...f...Mo
Hester's next door neighbor is Joseph Bozarth from Tennessee. He has a son named Levi who is listed as being 15. Hester's oldest daughter, Emmeline McDowell, has married a different young man named Levi Bozarth. Both Levi's are grandsons of Levi Bozarth of Tennessee who lived in White and then DeKalb Counties in Tennessee where the McDowells also lived.
The expert on Emmeline McDowell and Levi Bozarth is their descendant Judy Young. We got in touch through GenForum in 1999. I just looked at some of the old posts. Judy was very generous with her information, and we shared pictures. She had a website at that time, but yesterday I could not find her site. I did find several people on Ancestry had copies of her photograph where she has a picture of Emmeline and Nancy Ann beside each other so you can see the resemblance as they got older. Another researcher who is very generous is VirJean Potter Bozarth. She made sure I found out who Nathan Bozarth was. [Nathan was a son of the elder Levi Bozarth mentioned above. Nathan was born about 1816 in White County, Tennessee. One source says he died about 1853. It seems like he and Nancy had no children; there were no young Bozarths living with Nancy in 1860-1880.]
Saturday, December 11, 2010
HESTER ANN McDOWELL in TANEY COUNTY, Missouri in 1850
Here is some data gathered from census records of Campbell Township, Taney County, Missouri in 1850.
Family 633. Date November 2, 1850
N Bozorth.....36...M...Farmer...150...Tennessee
N Bozorth.....24...F...........................Tennessee
H McDail.......36...F...*......................Tennessee
E McDail.......12...F............................Tennessee
O McDail........7...M...........................Tennessee
J McDail.........3...M...........................Tennessee
N McDail...10/12...F..........................Missouri
T Thompson.11...F.............................Tennessee
* There is a letter in the column for race. The options are W, B, or M. The letter after Hester's name appears to an a capital M or a W. I read the census for four townships in Taney County to ascertain if this was a capital M or a W, because to my husband and I it looked more like an M.
The census taker only marked race for an occasional family. I thought maybe he only marked those families who were new in the area. In three townships, he always marked the W for white with a rounded lower case letter, except for Hester. After Hester's name the letter is tall and pointed. As I kept searching, I found that in Cass Township the same census taker used capital W's that resembled the one after Hester's name. Also, the transcriber for Ancestry read the letter as being a W, so I'm going to go along with Hester being white. In later census records Hester is listed as being white. I have never seen a photograph of Hester, but I bet a descendant of her son Owen has one since she lived near/with Owen at the end of her life.
I have a copy of the email in front of me from a lovely man named Bob Miley who helped me with the names of the persons in the 1850 census. It's dated 5/28/98 and Bob says the names were added by a woman who had made a study of the early families of Taney County. In this family she had the notation of "1840 DeKalb Co. Tenn." That last phrase was a HUGE help to me. Thank you genealogy genies!
These are the first names the lady had deduced:
Nathan Bozarth...36...Male...TN
Hester McDowell...36...Fem...TN
Owen McDowell...7...Male...TN
James McDowell...3...Male...TN
Nancy McDowell...10/12...Fem...MO
I believe I found Nancy Bozarth's name by corresponding with Bozarth researchers, and taking their periodical for a year. That was a well organized group of researchers! They were very interested in helping me. Nathan Bozarth was a son of Levi Bozarth/Bozart of White/DeKalb County, Tennessee. At first I had a hunch that the woman of the house was named Nancy because Hester's baby seemed to be named after her. I had a even stronger hunch that Nancy and Hester were sisters, but it wasn't until finding Nancy in the 1880 census after another marriage, that my sister, Kathy, and I had proof that Nancy was Hester's sister. That story will come later.
The names of Emmeline McDowell and Tersie Thompson were not found by the researcher in Missouri, but Tercie or Tierce shows up in 1860. (It is a nickname for Teresa.) I knew about Emmeline McDowell because I had connected with Judy Young of Missouri, who is a descendant of Emmeline and Levi Bozarth. Judy has a photo on her website that shows Nancy Ann and Emmeline at similar ages, and you can see the resemblance.
Family 633. Date November 2, 1850
N Bozorth.....36...M...Farmer...150...Tennessee
N Bozorth.....24...F...........................Tennessee
H McDail.......36...F...*......................Tennessee
E McDail.......12...F............................Tennessee
O McDail........7...M...........................Tennessee
J McDail.........3...M...........................Tennessee
N McDail...10/12...F..........................Missouri
T Thompson.11...F.............................Tennessee
* There is a letter in the column for race. The options are W, B, or M. The letter after Hester's name appears to an a capital M or a W. I read the census for four townships in Taney County to ascertain if this was a capital M or a W, because to my husband and I it looked more like an M.
The census taker only marked race for an occasional family. I thought maybe he only marked those families who were new in the area. In three townships, he always marked the W for white with a rounded lower case letter, except for Hester. After Hester's name the letter is tall and pointed. As I kept searching, I found that in Cass Township the same census taker used capital W's that resembled the one after Hester's name. Also, the transcriber for Ancestry read the letter as being a W, so I'm going to go along with Hester being white. In later census records Hester is listed as being white. I have never seen a photograph of Hester, but I bet a descendant of her son Owen has one since she lived near/with Owen at the end of her life.
I have a copy of the email in front of me from a lovely man named Bob Miley who helped me with the names of the persons in the 1850 census. It's dated 5/28/98 and Bob says the names were added by a woman who had made a study of the early families of Taney County. In this family she had the notation of "1840 DeKalb Co. Tenn." That last phrase was a HUGE help to me. Thank you genealogy genies!
These are the first names the lady had deduced:
Nathan Bozarth...36...Male...TN
Hester McDowell...36...Fem...TN
Owen McDowell...7...Male...TN
James McDowell...3...Male...TN
Nancy McDowell...10/12...Fem...MO
I believe I found Nancy Bozarth's name by corresponding with Bozarth researchers, and taking their periodical for a year. That was a well organized group of researchers! They were very interested in helping me. Nathan Bozarth was a son of Levi Bozarth/Bozart of White/DeKalb County, Tennessee. At first I had a hunch that the woman of the house was named Nancy because Hester's baby seemed to be named after her. I had a even stronger hunch that Nancy and Hester were sisters, but it wasn't until finding Nancy in the 1880 census after another marriage, that my sister, Kathy, and I had proof that Nancy was Hester's sister. That story will come later.
The names of Emmeline McDowell and Tersie Thompson were not found by the researcher in Missouri, but Tercie or Tierce shows up in 1860. (It is a nickname for Teresa.) I knew about Emmeline McDowell because I had connected with Judy Young of Missouri, who is a descendant of Emmeline and Levi Bozarth. Judy has a photo on her website that shows Nancy Ann and Emmeline at similar ages, and you can see the resemblance.
Friday, December 10, 2010
HESTER ANN McDOWELL b. ca 1819 in TENNESSEE
Names used in this post. Most recent birthdate first:
Henry David "Bud" and Corrine Hamaker of Leon, Iowa
Henry David "Dave" (1885-1973) and Juanita Hamaker of Iowa and Nebraska
Hester Ann Hamaker (1869-1956) Iowa, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Michigan
Nancy Ann McDowell Hamaker (1850-1933) Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska
George Hamaker (1842-1918) Ohio, Mills Co., Iowa and Cherry Co., Nebraska
Hester Ann McDowell (ca 1819-1879) Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska
I admired Hester McDowell for her courage as she brought her children to safety in Missouri after her husband died in Tennessee . When I found her in the 1850 census, she was living with another family in Campbell Township, Taney County, Missouri. I knew to look there for her because the family Bible owned by Henry David "Bud" Hamaker and his wife, Corrine, said Nancy Ann Mcdowell was born in "Tainey County," Missouri. I had seen the Bible in the Hamaker's home in Leon, Iowa. Bud and Corrine were so gracious to me when I came at Christmas time in 1994.
Nancy Ann was the grandmother of Bud Hamaker. His dad was also a Henry David, who was one of the youngest sons of Nancy Ann McDowell and George Hamaker. Nancy Ann lived on until the 1930s and died in Cherry County, Nebraska. She lived near her son Henry David aka "Dave" Hamaker and his wife, Juanita, so the family Bible went to them after she passed away. Bible records were written in Nancy Ann's handwriting and after her passing, they were written in Juanita Hamaker's writing.
Corrine Hamaker gave me photocopies of the family Bible records. Three of her children were there after Christmas in 1994, and they all helped me study the photographs that had belonged to my great-grandmother, Hester Ann Hamaker. Hester Ann was the older sister of Dave Hamaker. She was one of the eldest in the family, while Dave was one of the youngest. When I was visiting with Bud Hamaker, I was visiting my grandmother's first cousin.
I had the census records from 1850 Campbell Township, Taney County, Missouri sent to me by a researcher in Denver, CO. It took some detective work to find Hester because in the index Hester was listed as "H. McDail." (The writing of the census taker gets looser as you read down the census. By time you get to baby Nancy's name, it looks like her last name is "McSlail"). The census taker had only listed the first initials of residents in Campbell Twp., and I imagine Hester may have pronounced her name as something similar to "McDail."
When I called the local library/genealogy center to see if any one knew the first names in the census, a wonderful gentleman told me a genealogist had identified the first names of as many residents as she could. He emailed me her results. I found out Hester was living with Nathan Bozarth, Nancy Bozarth, Emmeline McDowell, Owen McDowell, James McDowell, and Nancy Ann McDowell.
With more research looking at censuses and other records from 1840-1880, I know that Nancy Bozarth was Hester's younger sister; Nathan Bozarth was her brother-in-law; Tersie Thompson was either her daughter, niece, or her young sister; and the other four were all Hester Ann's children. This completed the first step in my search for Hester Ann's story. I knew who she was living with and the names of her children. I knew her whole family was born in Tennessee, so next I searched for McDowells and McDoles in the census indices for all of Tennessee.
About 2009 I found Hester Ann's death record. Her son, Owen, had moved to Nuckolls County, Nebraska by 1880. He stayed there and raised a family. The coroner must have misunderstood Hester's name and thought it was Esther Ann. She is listed as E.A. McDowell, 61 years old, female, a widow, born in Tennessee, parents born in North Carolina, death caused by debility, and she had lived in the county for 8 years. Ironically, the place where we can find what happened to both John and Hester Ann McDowell is in the Mortality Index. Rest in Peace.
Henry David "Bud" and Corrine Hamaker of Leon, Iowa
Henry David "Dave" (1885-1973) and Juanita Hamaker of Iowa and Nebraska
Hester Ann Hamaker (1869-1956) Iowa, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Michigan
Nancy Ann McDowell Hamaker (1850-1933) Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska
George Hamaker (1842-1918) Ohio, Mills Co., Iowa and Cherry Co., Nebraska
Hester Ann McDowell (ca 1819-1879) Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska
I admired Hester McDowell for her courage as she brought her children to safety in Missouri after her husband died in Tennessee . When I found her in the 1850 census, she was living with another family in Campbell Township, Taney County, Missouri. I knew to look there for her because the family Bible owned by Henry David "Bud" Hamaker and his wife, Corrine, said Nancy Ann Mcdowell was born in "Tainey County," Missouri. I had seen the Bible in the Hamaker's home in Leon, Iowa. Bud and Corrine were so gracious to me when I came at Christmas time in 1994.
Nancy Ann was the grandmother of Bud Hamaker. His dad was also a Henry David, who was one of the youngest sons of Nancy Ann McDowell and George Hamaker. Nancy Ann lived on until the 1930s and died in Cherry County, Nebraska. She lived near her son Henry David aka "Dave" Hamaker and his wife, Juanita, so the family Bible went to them after she passed away. Bible records were written in Nancy Ann's handwriting and after her passing, they were written in Juanita Hamaker's writing.
Corrine Hamaker gave me photocopies of the family Bible records. Three of her children were there after Christmas in 1994, and they all helped me study the photographs that had belonged to my great-grandmother, Hester Ann Hamaker. Hester Ann was the older sister of Dave Hamaker. She was one of the eldest in the family, while Dave was one of the youngest. When I was visiting with Bud Hamaker, I was visiting my grandmother's first cousin.
I had the census records from 1850 Campbell Township, Taney County, Missouri sent to me by a researcher in Denver, CO. It took some detective work to find Hester because in the index Hester was listed as "H. McDail." (The writing of the census taker gets looser as you read down the census. By time you get to baby Nancy's name, it looks like her last name is "McSlail"). The census taker had only listed the first initials of residents in Campbell Twp., and I imagine Hester may have pronounced her name as something similar to "McDail."
When I called the local library/genealogy center to see if any one knew the first names in the census, a wonderful gentleman told me a genealogist had identified the first names of as many residents as she could. He emailed me her results. I found out Hester was living with Nathan Bozarth, Nancy Bozarth, Emmeline McDowell, Owen McDowell, James McDowell, and Nancy Ann McDowell.
With more research looking at censuses and other records from 1840-1880, I know that Nancy Bozarth was Hester's younger sister; Nathan Bozarth was her brother-in-law; Tersie Thompson was either her daughter, niece, or her young sister; and the other four were all Hester Ann's children. This completed the first step in my search for Hester Ann's story. I knew who she was living with and the names of her children. I knew her whole family was born in Tennessee, so next I searched for McDowells and McDoles in the census indices for all of Tennessee.
About 2009 I found Hester Ann's death record. Her son, Owen, had moved to Nuckolls County, Nebraska by 1880. He stayed there and raised a family. The coroner must have misunderstood Hester's name and thought it was Esther Ann. She is listed as E.A. McDowell, 61 years old, female, a widow, born in Tennessee, parents born in North Carolina, death caused by debility, and she had lived in the county for 8 years. Ironically, the place where we can find what happened to both John and Hester Ann McDowell is in the Mortality Index. Rest in Peace.
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