National Women's Month-Louisa Jane Alexander Wilson

 This post is about my second great grandaunt, Louisa Jane Alexander. She was born on September 1, 1846, in Jackson County, Indiana. Her parents were John Henry Alexander and Mary Frances Carter. Mary was also known at Frankie in her early days. The marriage was the second marriage for both of them. 

The first problem I ran into while trying to keep track of Louisa and her siblings was the 1850 census. She and her sister were missing. I found her parents and a baby Isaac right where they should be.  Louisa and Mahala were missing for several years in my research. Then a gen-friend emailed me about the 1850 census. She had found Mahala Alexander, 5 years old and Louisa J. Alexander, 3 years old and in the house of a Nancy Hutchinson in Brownstown, Indiana. In 1860 they were both back in the home of their parents. I have not connected Nancy to the family yet and the only recognizable name in her household is an Elizabeth King. Louisa 's grandmother was Sally King Alexander. Maybe a connection, maybe not. 

On October 27, 1867, a 21-year-old Louisa married Ephraim Cole Wilson in Brownstown, Indiana. Ephraim had been a corporal in the Union army. Their marriage produced five children, Minnie Belle, Orland C., Dillard, Willard, and Pirtle.

In the 1870 census, Louisa and Ephraim are farming out in Jackson County, Indiana. I thought I had lost them as I could not find them in the 1880 census. I am sure they did not go out of county or state, so I am going to keep trying to find them in 1880. It must have been during this time that the changes were taking place, a change of career for Ephraim, and the beginning of a family business. 

In 1900 I found them living on Spring Street in Brownstown, Indiana, not out in the county. Ephraim was listed as a Livestock Dealer. Living with them are son Pirtle, 18, who is listed as a butcher. Clyde is there listed as a son but is really a grandson. He is 10 years old. Orlean, 27-year-old son, his wife Kate, and baby Hubert are there too. Orlean is also a butcher. This was the beginning of something that is still going on in the Wilson family in 1841, in Brownstown. 

By the 1910 census, Ephraim and Louisa are still in Brownstown on Bridge Street. He is no longer working. Grandson Hubert is 10 and still with them. His mother Kate (Moreland) died in 1901. Perhaps Louisa only cared for him while his father worked. His father Orland had remarried in 1906, and I know that the new wife (Rebecca Cummings) worked with him at the Wilson Market.

Ephraim died on January 31, 1915. His death certificate says he died of Chronic Cystitis.  He was 68 years old. His obituary says he was sick for some time. He and Louisa had been married for 49 years. I can only imagine her grief. 

Five years after Ephriam's death, in the 1920 census, Louisa is 72 and still living in Brownstown. Herbert is still with her at age 19. This is going to be the last time she will be in a census. 

She dies in 1926 at the age of 79 of heart disease. She had been ill and bed-ridden for 9 months. She was living at the home of her eldest daughter, Minnie Eisele, when she died. She was buried beside Ephraim in the Fairview Cemetery there in Brownstown.

I think a part of her and Ephraim still continues. If you take a trip to Brownstown, Indiana, you can still do business with a Wilson. You see, you will find on Bolles Street, a little place called Wilson's Slaughtering & Processing (established 1892). It's nice to know it continues.

 SOURCES for this post:

1. "United States Census, 1850, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHJV-TCN); Nancy Hutchinson; Brownstown, Jackson, Indiana; Dwelling 769, Family 772, Line 2. 

Hutchinson, Nancy 43, Rebecca 14, Elizabeth King 45, Malaha 5, Louisa 3.

2. "United States Census, 1860"

Alexander, John 1860 U.S. Census

Jackson County, Indiana Hamilton TWP

Series: M653 Roll: 268 Page: 761

Dwelling 840 Family 819

Alexander, John 41, Francis 55, John H 17, Mahala 16, Louisa 13

3. "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZQR-YSL : 21 January 2016), Ephraim Wilson and Louisa J Alexander, 27 Oct 1867; citing Jackson, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,314,625.

4. "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXXB-1DT), Ephram Wilson; Owen Township, Jackson, Indiana, United States; Dwelling 806, Family 806, Line 20, Page 117.

Wilson, Ephraim 24, Louisa 24, Minnie B. 6mos.

5. "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM1T-QGT), Hubert Wilson in entry for Epherum Wilson, 1900; ED: 66, Sheet: 12, Line: 1, Dwelling: 241, Family 254.

 Wilson, Epherin 54, Louisa 54, Pirtle 18, Clyde 10, Orlean 27, Cate 27, Hubert (grandson) 1.

 

 6. "United States Census, 1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKP3-CJX), Ephrim Wilson, Brownstown, Jackson, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 58, Sheet 14A, Dwelling 194, Family 196, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 357; FHL microfilm 1,374,370.

Wilson, Ephraim 65, Louisa 63, Hubert (grandson) 10.    

7. "United States, Census, 1920", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF7G-3VY : Wed Jan 22 17:07:45 UTC 2025), Entry for Louisa Jane Wilson and Hurbert Wilson, 1920.   

Wilson, Louisa 72, Hubert (grandson) 19. 

8. "Article; Newspapers.com"; Jackson County Banner, Brownstown, Indiana, Obituary - Louisa Wilson; 28 July 1926; Page 5.

9. "Indiana Archives and Records Administration"; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Death Certificates; Year: 1926-1927; Roll: 10 Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Registered No. 20 [23655];

Brownstown, Brownstown, Jackson, Indiana.

Death; July 25, 1926 Informant: Mrs Geo. Eisele Cause: Heart Disease

    

10. "Find a Grave", database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/197824694/louise-jane-wilson), memorial page for Louise Jane Wilson (1 Sep 1846–24 Jul 1926), Find a Grave Memorial ID 197824694, citing Fairview Cemetery, Brownstown, Jackson County, Indiana, USA; Maintained by The Lone Ranger (contributor 47228659).       

              

Let's Go On A Journey

 I'm time-traveling through another box of treasures! This time it's a fun journey.

In the summer of 1959 I was 5, and my brother was almost 3. The two of us and my Mother boarded a bus and headed for California. It was 3 days and 3 nights on that thing, with the exception of the bus breaking down in the desert, which I believe was in New Mexico, as there was a bunch of post cards my mother had bought there, and it is the only place she bought anything on the journey there and back.

We were going visiting to my mom's oldest sister, Louise Jaynes Pearson.They lived in San Bernardino. But, I believe we visited my grandaunt, Gladys Alexander Taylor in Los Angeles as well.  We went to Disneyland and the ocean and the cousins were nowhere to be seen, so I am pretty sure we were in LA at that time.

We went to Disneyland!!!! It had opened in 1955.

 The above book had an insert.

 

She even kept the ticket stub. This is the front.

 This is the back. Look at that price. Can you even park for that now?!

 

 

 

I learned many things during my visit. Playing with my cousins in their yard I learned not to go barefoot as walking in the grass was painful, hot, dry, sharp grass crunching loudly. There were ants that bite and it hurt! I was born a water-baby so we visited the ocean. The water, even to a child was dirty and as warm as bath water. The sand was too hot to walk on barefooted. I didn't like anything California but Disneyland and I missed my Dad terribly.  

For Your Information: There is a commercial that says, because of her use of excessive exclamation points, they had changed something. First time I heard it I told my daughter that was me. Not speaking face to face, it's hard to show excitement. So if I use excessive exclamation points you will know I am excited!!!

 

Treasure From 1913

 

I found it! The one photo I had not been able to scan in all these years. It had been on my mothers wall for so long. I kept telling her that I needed to scan it, and she would reply that she'd take it down one of these days for me to scan. That day never came. In the many boxes that wore packed up after the death of my step-father, I had no idea which one it was in. My sister brought me another box to go through yesterday. When I opened the box, there it was on top. I cried. And then I released it from its prison and immediately squashed it in the scanner! Oh, I did dust it first. It was really dusty.  

 

 

 This photo was taken in 1913. I believe it was taken at the door of the train station. Everyone traveled by train at the time. In first grade my class went on a field trip riding the train. Anyway, starting on the left is Merrill Harris Alexander, age 4, the middle girl is Gladys Faye Alexander, age 6, and the tall girl is my grandmother, Della Mae Alexander, age 9. I just want to hug Grandma, her little face is so serious. The blond bookends were pure Alexander, Gladys is all Martin. They were a dark headed bunch, and it all went to Gladys. Grandma Mom, Olive Martin Alexander, was a very exacting woman. The girls show it. I do believe she finally met her match in Merrill. He was her first boy. His knickerbockers were crooked, and his little traveling coat, well, I bet it was a fight to get his picture taken with his coat belt that way, his way probably. The belt was supposed to fit below his waist but not quite so low or bunchy. His smile might be triumph. Little rebel! The girls, of course, are perfect.

 

This photo is not only special because my grandma is in it, but also because this is the first photo I have of Gladys as a child. I only have one of her and it is a really bad photo of her as an adult. She married and moved to California long before I was born. I never met Merrill either as he died at age 22 of appendicitis. 

 

Just me rambling on about one of my treasures. 

 

 

 

Lost Is Found

 Going through some of my mother's things I found a couple of CDs I had left there many years ago. I had shown her some things in the family tree, and I left the things behind as I had it all on my computer at home.  One thing was a copy of my photo album on my computer in 2003.  The other thing was my copy of FamilyTree Maker 9. It was owned by Broderbund when I bought it, and it was the last copy I bought. I loved the program but I didn't love Ancestry (they bought FTM).  

She didn't have a computer long. She said she didn't like it, but I think she was intimidated and a little afraid of it! She was not really interested in Family History. She would tell me the stories though.

Now I have Family Historian and I am quite pleased with it. It does have a learning curve, but I am ok with that. Everything is where I would want it to be, and I'm very comfortable with it. I am still learning things about the program, but still pleased. My old brain needs a workout anyway! I recently found a program by Nick Walker called Ancestral Sources that makes source entry easier in Family Historian. It is a free program. There are videos for both programs on YouTube and the Family Historian site and I use them often.

Family Historian. Ancestral Sources by Nick Walker. 

My Dad Was a Water Witch

 My Dad was a dowser, a water witch. People would be waiting for us to come to visit the family so he could find them a new well. Dad was born in Alabama. He and his family moved North when he was a teenager. Most of his family are still in Alabama. So anyway, he would go off and find water. I remember running along behind him sometimes, watching. I was fascinated. My Mother, on the other hand, tried to hide it from everyone 'back home'.

Dad would just find a forked branch and cut it when he got to the place. Then he would walk the place. Well, I won't go on as it could get quite long. It took a long time, as he would continue to walk in a north/south and east/west directions.  He liked being right, and he liked going up against technology to prove it!  The last time I know of him going witching was in the mid 1980's.  He was finding his own new well. They had pretty good tech then and he bragged that he was less than an inch from the what the tech said! 

 

The 'fixed' photo!

The first part of January I posted on Bluesky that I wanted to know if anyone knew someone that could fix a photo for me. I got a nice response!

The photo had lain in the bottom of a box. I didn't know there was one in existence. It is not a great photo and it was scratched bad. My post on Bluesky was answered by a Dr. Christophe (@offrez-une-genealogie.fr).  I am so happy that he was able to make the photo clearer. Well worth the money!

Rufus Lee Brock, Jr.
1931 - 2006

 

I Don't Know If I Am Ready

 December 31, 2024, my step-father died. He was 87, and missing my Mother so much. She died just 14 months before him. The Coroner said he had a massive heart attack, which makes sense as his heart was broken. He was gone before he hit the floor.Thankfully he did not suffer.

It snowed and got bitterly cold after that. I love snow normally. This time was different. At one point there was somewhere between 10 - 15 inches of snow out my window. Today it is raining, but cold, and I think the snow that is still hanging around is icier than it was. We're waiting for another bitter wave of temps coming at us.

So, what might be the most disturbing and scary year of my life, and I am almost 71, has begun. I've always thought of the new year started on my birthday. I mean, technically that seems reasonable since it really will be a new year for me. So I have a few weeks before I count it. January is just a trial run. A window into my future.

How has this January new year started? A funeral, drones and aliens, bitter weather, fire, and now fear. Many of my ancestors fought and some died to make and keep this country free. Most of my family are all in and happy about what is coming. To me it makes for a lonely time as I have been on the other side of the situation. I have lost my faith in the people of this country. I am resolved to believe that in the end, truth, decency, freedom and justice will win. I hope I live to see justice done!

What have I done so far?  I grieve. I deleted my Instagram (Threads), and Facebook. I haven't had Twitter for a long time. There is no longer any news channels in my house. I look online for reputable news sources.  I do have Bluesky and Mastodon.  I BLOCK TROUBLE and it brings such peace.

I've also gotten all of my bag patterns made into books, making it so much less messy to create one project, than having pattern pages everywhere.

 In family history: I use Family Historian and have a different way of working. Better organized, thanks to Drew Smith ("Organize Your Genealogy"). I have a folder full of sources to do, a folder of sources to scan, a folder to transcribe, and WikiTree to work on. Want to make a dent this year. Let's see how it goes.                                          

 

 

 

WikiTree Symposium - Coming Soon!

 

The WikiTree Symposium is coming!! FREE Symposium, by the way. November 1-3 is full of genealogy presentations! I like to make a list of speakers I want to see. Usually, I just watch the names on my list, but this year it will probably be on all day for 3 days. I'll be sure to listen to the ones on my list, but also hear a little of them all. Can't sit down for 3 days, but I can catch some. A lot of speakers focus on newbies, which I am not. I've been working on my family history since the late 70's, so newbie does not apply. 

Here is the Schedule for anyone that wants to plan their first November weekend. 

Some of my favorite speakers are:

Melissa Barker. She is the archivist for Houston County, Tennessee. Every time I listen to Melissa I learn something new. Every time. She has a blog called A Genealogist In The Archives

Drew Smith. Always a fresh learning experience. Organize Your Genealogy, Drew's book, "Organize Your Genealogy", got me in shape. I spent a year using his book to organize, finally.

Cheri Hudson Passey has an interesting presentation. She is always interesting.

And then, of course, Thomas MacEntee. Mr. Genealogy himself. He needs no introduction.