Tag: Flock

Posted on

Mappy Monday – The Many Moves Of The Flock Family

Matthias Flock is my 4th great grandfather.  (me->my mom->Roberta Mitchell->Opal Strickler->Effie Flock->John Flock->Matthias Flock).  He was born about 1813 in New Jersey.  He died between 1860-1870 in either Appanoose County, Iowa or York County, Nebraska.  He married Margaret Fankboner in 1835 in Tuscarawas, Ohio.  I have documented 11 children born between 1835 and 1860.

One of the things that really sticks out to me about this family is how much they moved during their lifetime.  I created a timeline in excel to get a better idea of when and where the family lived.  As they moved from place to place, they seemed to leave a couple of kids behind in each location. (Not Literally! The kids would stay in a town after they married.)

Using the information I had gathered in the excel sheet, I created a google map to get a better visual idea of how the Flock family moved around the United States.  First they moved west, then South.

The excel sheet was pretty long so here is a quick snap shot of the family’s moves:

about 1813 – Matthias Flock is born in New Jersey
about 1815 – Margaret Fankboner is born in Pennsylvania
1835 – Matthias and Margaret marry in Tuscarawas County, Ohio
1835-1850 – The Flock’s live in Tuscarawas, Ohio as seven of their children are born
1850-1854 – The Flock’s live in Coles County, Ohio and have 2 more children
1855-1865? – The Flock’s live in Appanoose County, Iowa and have their last child
1865?- 1878? – Margaret now a widow, lives in York County, Nebraska.  One of her son’s remainded behind in Iowa and did not make this move.
1878-1884?  – Margaret moves in with son John and his family in Washington County, Kansas.  She has left another couple of sons in York, Iowa.
1884- 1904 – Margaret is no longer living with John.  She is found again in 1904 in the Cemetery in Ringwood, Oklahoma.  One of her sons, Charles, is also buried there with his family.  It is possible that she lived her last years in Oklahoma with him. An interesting note is that another son, John, died in Enid, Oklahoma.  Enid and Ringwood are only 21 miles apart.  For this family, that is a small distance.

When my ancestors moved in the mid and late 1800’s, they were definitely part of America’s great Western Expansion.  I took a look at the BLM website to search for any land patents.  I was amazed to see that most of Matthias and Margaret’s sons applied for patents in Iowa, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.  I will have to spend some time learning more about the Homestead Act of 1862 and my ancestors roll in populating the west.

Posted on

Travel Tuesday – A Must See County In Ohio

One of the great moments on this season of Who Do You Think You Are was in the Martin Sheen episode.  Martin Sheen found information that one of his great grandfathers tried to put one of his great grandmothers in jail.  In a twist of irony, the two sides of the family came together in marriage several generations later.

Today I found out that I might have my own “Martin Sheen” moment.  It is not as dramatic but still exciting for me.

I have documented my mother’s paternal line (Lawbaugh) from Kansas back to Illinois then to Tuscarawas County, Ohio.  The family moved to Ohio in the early 1820’s and stayed there until 1853 when my line moved to Illinois.  The Lawbaugh’s lived in the Bucks and Sugarcreek areas of the county.

Today I received an email from a volunteer angel who did a look up for me in Tuscarawas County.  He confirmed that on my mother’s maternal line (Flock) Mathias Flock married Margaret Fankboner in Tuscarawas County in 1835.  The 1840 Federal Census places the family in Oxford, Tuscarawas, Ohio.

The Lawbaugh family lived approximately 20-25 miles away from the Flock family in the same county.  Although I know this was a far distance for travel in the early 1800’s, I have to wonder if there was ever a chance that these two families ever met?!  Did they know each other or of each other?

It would be wild if they knew each other because 4 generations later my grandmother would marry my grandfather in Kansas.

I need to do more research about the area and what records are available.  I also need to add this county to my “visit places my ancestors lived” genealogy goal for sure!

Posted on

Twice Related

Lawrence Elliott has the special distinction of showing up in two different family lines in my family tree.  Here is how:

Lawrence was born Feb 26, 1892 in Hoyt, Kansas to Lewis Elliott and Melinda Mitchell.  On December 12, 1912 he married Ruby Strickler in Fall River, Greenwood, Kansas.  Ruby Strickler was born May 28, 1894 in Narka, Kansas to Abraham Strickler and Effie Amner Flock.

Ruby was the middle daughter in a family of 1 son and three girls.  The brother died as an infant. Opal was born second on March 1, 1891. Emerald was born last on April 1, 1902.  After Lawrence and Ruby were married, Ruby set her older sister up with her husband’s uncle, Dudley Moses Mitchell.  Dudley Moses is the younger brother of Melinda Mitchell, Lawrence’s mother.

Despite a fifteen year age difference, Opal and Dudley hit it off and were married on December 20, 1916 in Topeka, Kansas.

After the marriage, Lawrence became twice related.  He shows up in both the Strickler family line and the Mitchell family line.  Lawrence was related to Dudley Moses as his nephew and brother-in-law at the same time.  He is my 1st cousin twice removed and the husband of my great great aunt.