William and his wife Betsey Myers were teenagers when they bought
in Delaware County in 1814, 1815 and early in 1816. William
Myers was twenty years old when he and his brother Lawrence founded
Sunbury in 1816.
In 1991 when Sunbury celebrated its 175 birthday, I knew very
little of William and Betsey’s children. Their son Phillip died in
infancy in 1822 and is buried in burying ground on the plat map now
know as Sunbury Memorial Park. It seemed they had 4 or 5 girls;
Patty, Amy, Ellen, Elizabeth and maybe a Polly.
A grandchild’s descendant, Gene Chamberlain, visited Sunbury with
the correct spelling for Aimee and the story of Mary S. and Eliza B.
Thanks to online records I now know Aimee Myers was born in December
1817, Mary S. was born February 7, 1819, both Phillip and Ellen W. in
1822, and Eliza Brown on July 4, 1824. It is possible Phillip and
Ellen were twins.
The tanning business was good. William sold a tract of land
outside the village in 1818 to Ary Hendrick and another in 1821 to
Alverus Hendrick. In 1824 they sold Lot 72 on the plat map to
Benjamin H. Taylor.
While surveying land for their new home possibly on Lot 59
(across Granville Street from the Myers Inn), William Myers caught a
fever and died on July 30, 1824, three weeks after the birth of
their 5th child. This left Betsy probably in a log cabin
with four little girls, the oldest of which was 6, and many unsold
lots. Even with help from Lawrence and Eliza Myers she would have
been struggling. She relied on Rufus Atherton who was appointed
executor of her husband’s estate to lead her.
On October 18, 1825, David Armstrong bought 100 acres from
William’s estate for $4.55 an acre. On January 30, 1826, the acres
were deeded back to Betsey Myers for $400.
I do not know how Betsy and Rev. Artemus Cutler from Blendon-Lewis
Center area met but they were
soon married giving him the access to her lands and a home for her
daughters.
Randall Rice Arnold wrote in his diary, "On March 9, 1825, I
began work with Artemus Cutler for six months at nine dollars a
month learning carpenter work. He was living on the west side of
Alum Creek, in Blendon Township, about one mile south of the
Franklin/Delaware County line. Our labor that summer consisted
chiefly of carpenter work."
In Franklin County History it talks about "Artemus Cutler, a
farmer, miller, builder and exhorter in the church, who, being
chidden for a rather unministerial tendency toward exaggeration,
proved the charge against him by declaring that he 'had shed barrels
of tears over his weakness,' but who withal was a very useful man
among the immigrants into this wilderness." I see no
signs of his being interested in selling the lots for the family.
On April 21, 1828, Lawrence Myers conveyed 29 acres to William
Myers estate. These were to be sold to pay Hezekiah
Rodgers, Sr. for land he and William had purchased in June 1816
before laying out the town.
There were still debts to be cleared so after trying to sell the
land at a sheriff sale, on June 5,1828, the Cutlers of Franklin
County, sold 100 acres conveyed by Gideon Osterhout to William
Osterhaut and from William Ousterhaut to William Myers for $800 and
from Sheriff of Delaware County to David Armstrong for $670. This
included all but lot 72 (which already belonged to Chase and Taylor)
and Lot 77.
Also in June 1828, they sold Sunbury Lots 51, 52, 67 and 68 to
Charles Armstrong for a total of $35.50 in the Myers Inn.
By 1840, Betsy Cutler is head of household on the census with two
white females between 15-19 who would have been Ellen and Eliza. I
assume Artemus died but have not found when or where.
Aimee Myers: 1817-between 1914 and 1916
On August 15, 1835, Norman Patrick purchased lot 32 (for $70)
with others from Lawrence Myers estate. This lot is in the middle of
the block on the south side of Cherry Street between Vernon and
Morning Streets. Aimee Myers purchased the lot from Patrick for $325 in 1840
then on November 1843 sold it to her sisters Mary, Eliza , and Ellen
for $325.
Aimee married John M. Taggart. A stone cutter, on Nov. 14,
1843. They moved to Illinois where 5 children were born. By 1860 the
family lived in Nebraska where another daughter was born and John
became a Baptist minister. After John died in 1887, Aimee married
Amos Pratt whose wife had died in 1888. He was formerly a Morrow
County, Ohio, resident. Unfortunately he died before 1901 when widow
Aimee Pratt lived in Omaha. She was 96 when her daughter Aimee
Taggart Kenny died in 1914. But was not mentioned in Eliza
Chamberlain's obituary in 1916.
Mary S. Myers: 1816- 1845
In 1844, William’s oldest daughter, Mary S. Myers, married Hosea
W. Chamberlain on December 23, 1844. Hosea was a dry goods clerk in
the early 1840s and a director of Sunbury School (there will be a
tale of this next week). They had a son Henry M. born December 16,
1845 then Mary died six days later on December 22. This time a
father was left with a new born. Apparently Mary’s mother and
sisters helped with the infant.
In 1848, Ellen sold her 1/3 of Lot 32 to her sister Eliza for
$50.
Eliza Brown Myers : 1824-1916
On May 12, 1848 Hosea married his first wife’s youngest sister,
Eliza Brown Myers. On the 1850 census they were the parents of Susan
Brown Chamberlain and had Eliza’s mother and Ellen living with them.
In November 1850 Mary Elizabeth was born and named after both of
Hosea’s wives.
Because Mary S. died without a will, her baby son
Henry M. inherited her third of Lot 32. Hosea had to file suit in
order to sell it in his son’s name in 1854. The house became the
parsonage for the First
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On August 23, 1857 Betsey Myers Cutler died and is buried as Betsy
Myers with William in Sunbury Memorial Park.
The Chamberlain
family moved to Delaware where Hosea became Delaware County
Treasurer and then Auditor. They had two more girls who both died
under the age of 5 and then two sons in Delaware. Son Hosea R. was
born in 1858 and James B. in 1860.
Sadness hit again when the daughter Susan died in 1867. The
family took some financials upsets fought some legal suits, and
finally sold out and moved to Humbolt, Kansas, where their
properties were kept in the Eliza Chamberlain’s name. Hosea W. died
in 1892 and Eliza on March 2, 1916.
Four of the seven Chamberlain children lived to
be adults. Henry W. seems to have disappeared around 1860 so we do
not know if he died or perhaps was in the Civil War but he was
not seen with the family again. There was a Henry Chamberlain who
was drafted for three years into the 122nd Regiment of the Ohio
Infantry in Zanesville on May 25, 1864. He mustered out with
his company June 26, 1865 in Washington, D.C.
Hosea R. died in Chicago in 1921 and James B. died in Los
Angeles, CA in 1927. Mary Elizabeth followed in the family business
of buying and selling land. She died a spinster in 1936 in the home
in Humboldt and is buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery there with her
parents.
Ellen W. Myers: 1822- 1903
After selling her part of Lot 3 to her sister, Ellen lived with her
mother until her death then with her sister when she moved to
Delaware. When the Chamberlain family moved to Kansas, Ellen Myers
boarded in Delaware until her death December 28, 1903. She is buried
in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Hosea R. died in Chicago in 1921 and James B. died in Los
Angeles, CA in 1927. Mary Elizabeth followed in the family business
of buying and selling land. She died a spinster in 1936 in the home
in Humboldt and is buried there with her parents. |
Bibliography:
In addition to my research, Valerie Evers has been researching the
Taggart and Kenny descendants
of Aimee Myers Taggart Pratt.
Gene Chamberlains sent papers about the Mary S. and Eliza B.
Chamberlain which started us in the
right direction.
1. Original research in the Grantor / Grantee files in the
Court House are in Community Library files.2. Marriage of Aimee
Myers and John Taggart. Delaware County OH Marriages
1835-45
by Connie Huddlestun Minor.
2. Census Records from Ancestry.com
3. Recorder’s Office Delaware County, Ohio. Deeds.
4. Artimus Cutler. Diary of Randall Rice
Arnold Jr. (1806 - ) posted on Ancestry.com
http://hardentimes.blogspot.com/search?q=randall+rice
+arnold
"On March 9, 1825, I began work with Artemus Cutler for six months
at nine dollars a month learning carpenter work. He was living on
the west side of Alum Creek, in Blendon Township, about one mile
south of the Franklin/Delaware County line. Our labor that summer
consisted chiefly of carpenter work. It was thus that I began my
first lessons in carpenter work. The prominent notion in my mind was
to become a skillful mechanic, a profession which might give
prominence in life and a worthy good patronage. After fulfilling my
engagement with Mr. Cutler, in the autumn of 1825, my enterprise
became very successful and I became a subject of much skill and my
work was in good demand in the community. Consequently, I became a
member of the society of good families. It was while thus employed
as a mechanic in constructing plain dwellings and other
out-buildings that I contracted with Mr. Israel Baldwin, who was a
farmer in the community, to do the carpenter and joiner work on a
house he wished to build. The location was about midway between Mr.
Culter’s house and the county line."
5. History of Franklin County, Ohio. Volume one.
Chapter XXX. Townships and villages, page 474. In Community
Library.
"Artemus Cutler, a farmer, miller, builder and exhorter in the
church, who, being chidden for a rather unministerial tendency
toward exaggeration, proved the charge against him by declaring that
he 'had shed barrels of tears over his weakness,' but who withal was
a very useful man among the immigrants into this wilderness."
6. Obituary for Aimee Taggart Kenny from Valerie Evers found in
Pilot
Newspaper, 10 JUN 1914: MRS. F. W. KENNY IS DEAD
Died Sunday Afternoon at the Family Residence of Cancer of the
Stomach.
FUNERAL FROM THE HOME TUESDAY AFTERNOON
The community was not unprepared for the sad news that came Sunday
afternoon of the death of Mrs. F. W. Kenny at 3:25, though the end
was hardly expected so soon. Only four weeks ago she went down to
Excelsior Springs thinking she was simply run down from the hard
work of caring for her mother. She was there two weeks and came back
to Omaha, where it was definitely decided that she was suffering
from a cancer of the stomach. She was in Omaha a week and was
brought home only a week ago, fully realizing that there was no help
for the disease. Mrs. Kenny accepted the verdict of the physician
with great courage and fortitude and was ready and even happy that
she was so soon to be with the Master she loved and served and her
husband, whose death occurred February 18, 1911. She was unconscious
for two days before the end came as peacefully as normal sleep. A
short and simple funeral service was held at the home at 5 o’clock
yesterday afternoon and was conducted by her pastor, Rev. F. E.
Volek, of the Baptist church, which church she had been a faithful
worker in for many years. All the children, except Fred, were
present. The pallbearers were John Kenny, Dr. Paul Howard, Burtis
Smith, Lyman Peck, T. E. Stevens and Chris Schmidt. Interment was
made in the Blair cemetery. Miss Aimee Taggart was born at
Jacksonville, Ill., Jan. 24th, 1853, and came to Fontanelle with her
father, Rev. John M. Taggart, a Baptist missionary, who was
afterwards a member of the Nebraska territorial legislature in 1857.
The family moved to Nebraska City in 1867 and to this city in 1870.
She was married to Fredrick W. Kenny May 2nd, 1871, and of this
union eight children were born, one dying in infancy: Fred, of
Plattsburg, N.Y., John M., of Lewiston, Mont., Mrs. Paul Howard, of
North Bend, Mrs. Lyman Peck and Mrs. Burtis Smith , of Omaha, Miss
Sue, of Portland, Oregon, and Miss Maude who lived at home. Mrs.
Kenny’s mother, Mrs. A. M. Pratt, 96 years of age, has made her home
with her for several years and is very feeble. Three sisters and one
brother survive her also, Mrs. A. W. Clark, of Los Angeles, Calif.,
Mrs. Jeanette White, of Denver, Colo., Miss Mary Taggart, of
Colorado Springs, Colo., and Robert Taggart of Nebraska City. For
many years Mrs. Kenny had been an interested worker in the W. R. C.,
having been state department president and president of the local
Corps for six years. She was past Matron of the O. E. S., past
regent of the D. A. R. and one of the charter members of the Monday
Afternoon Club. She was an ideal wife, mother, neighbor and friend,
and her sudden passing will be a severe loss to her many friends, as
well as to the children, who have received so much of her unselfish
love and devotion. They have the sympathy of the entire community,
also the memory of a beautiful life spent in the service of others.
7. Obituary for Aimee Taggart Kenny from Valerie Evers
found in Blair Tribune, 10 JUN 1914: MRS. F. W. Kenny
Mrs. F. W. Kenny, aged 61 years and a pioneer of Blair, died
Sunday afternoon at the family home of cancer. She was the widow of
the late F. W. Kenny, who at his death was president of the Blair
National bank. Mrs. Kenny was widely known throughout the state,
having been state department president of the Woman’s Relief Corps
and president of the local corps for six years. She was past regent
of the Daughters of the American Revolution and past matron of the
Eastern Star and charter member of the Blair Women’s Monday
Afternoon club, which was organized about 1873. Mrs. Kenny was born
at Jacksonville, Ill., January 24, 1853, and came to Fontanelle,
Nebr., with her father, Rev. John M. Taggart, a Baptist missionary,
who was afterwards a member of the Nebraska territorial legislature
in 1857, and to Blair in 1870, where she was married to Frederick W.
Kenny, May 2, 1871. To this union was born eight children, on dying
in infancy and seven surviving: Fred Kenny of Plattsburg, N. Y.,
John of Lewiston, Mont.; Mrs. Dr. Howard of North Bend, Neb.; Mrs.
Aimee Peck and Mrs. Burtis Smith of Omaha; Miss Sue Kenny, late of
Portland, Ore., and Miss Maude, who has made her home with her
mother. Mrs. Kenny’s mother, Mrs. A. M. Pratt, 96 years of age, has
made her home with her for several years and is very sick at this
time. Three sisters also survive: Mrs. A. W. Clarke, whose husband
was a former Omaha pastor, now of Los Angeles, Cal.; Mrs. Jeanette
White of Denver, Colo., and Miss Mary Taggart of Colorado Springs,
Colo., and a brother Robert Taggart, of Nebraska City, Nebr. The
funeral was conducted by Rev. F. E. Volek, of the Baptist church
from the residence at 5 o’clock Tuesday afternoon and the remains
were laid to rest in the Blair cemetery beside her husband, who
preceded her to the Great Beyond.
Source: Ruth Moss, Washington County Genealogical Society
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