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VOLUME 4 NUMBER - 2 June 2005
EDITOR: PETER C. CHENOWETH - E-MAIL: p.chenoweth@comcast.net

Bridge Builder in WV Documentary

During the past couple of months I have been in e-mail contact with Terry Lively, Creative Services Manager, writer and executive producer for the West Virginia Department of Transportation on this project. They are putting together a documentary entitled "Bridge Building in West Virginia" and intend to include the scene where Lemuel Chenoweth appears before the Virginia Assembly as he tries to get the contract for the Phillipi Bridge contract. In this scene, Lemuel places the bridge model between two chairs, stands on the model to show its strength and then says, "Do you have any questions?" This showmanship wins him the contract for the bridge.

A recent email indicates that they have filmed Dr Emory Kemp, WVU Professor Emeritus on the Phillipi Covered Bridge in [DIRECTORS] May as he spoke of how he oversaw the renovations of the bridge after the devastating fire in 1989. The film crew attended the Blue and Gray Reunion, where they filmed the Civil War reenactment skirmishes.

A brochure on this project indicates that the film, due for release in March 2006, will show the formidable terrain our forefathers faced and how our forefathers faced and how they overcame these transportation barriers with innovative, award-winning structures.

"Bridge Building in West Virginia" will be edited for distribution to Public Television, History Channel, the WV Board of Education, state libraries and other media outlets. West Virginians have a transportation system they can be proud of, particularly if they are made aware of it. This documentary will encourage people of all ages to take pride in not only their transportation system but also those who first created the framework and the builders who followed.

Digital Vision Works, a production company from Dunbar, WV was awarded a contract to film the one hour documentary. Among several national and international awards Digital Vision Works has won, they recently added an "Award of Excellence" given by the International Videographer Awards for their work on another West Virginia based productions "The Captives". This education docudrama based on the life of Mary Ingles-Draper. They share this award with Jude Miller, a Roane County teacher, who wrote and directed the story.

Further updates to this project will be put in future newsletters as they become available and as this project gets closer to completion.

Website: Chenoweth Photo Gallery

This response was received from my cover letter request for a volunteer to build a Chenoweth Photo Gallery website: "I would be happy to help. I can update the website with photos in my spare time. I would like to know how you have photos as of right now. I am guessing this will take a bit to get to a happy place.

I am currently a web developer for stratum marketing here in downtown Norfolk, VA. My dad is Mike Chenoweth in Bonner Springs, KS, my grandpa is Fred Chenoweth and his mom is Helen Chenoweth. I am accounted for already, I just thought I would let you know who I was. - Will Chenoweth.

I am very pleased to announce that William Charles Chenoweth has agreed to host a Chenoweth picture gallery website. The URL is Chenoweth Photo Gallery . It is linked from my site. Bill has a start of about 20 pictures up, but has not had time to add much detail yet. He can be contacted at williamchenoweth@yahoo.com - Jon Egge [Note: This is a new Email address updated from the orginal newsletter publication]


[COAT-OF-ARMS] INSIDE THIS ISSUE
COMMENTS FROM THE CLAN

(The following e-mails have been received from members of the family with regards to the newsletter. Comments, articles, questions and other items for this newsletter are always appreciated.-editor)

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I came across Myra Crusie's name on your Chenoweth website and know that she has posted a relationship with the William and Jerusha Read family which I am also researching. Would you be so kind as to forward this e-mail to her so that she might contact me to share information? Thank you

31 May 2005
Marion Cox Fearing

I have passed your e-mail on to Myra and hope that it provides you with a satisfactory connection.� Jon Egge

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I had planned to write you pointing out the front page article in today's (Tuesday April 26) Wall Street Journal on Dr. Sorensen and the DNA project. It didn't mention "Chenoweth" but it surely was familiar, from the presentations at the WV reunion and, especially, the presentation in Portland. Interesting that they now have 31k of those mouth swatches we all did in Elkins. I would suspect the article is no surprise to you by now, but I did have the thought that a request to the Journal would get us permission to reprint the article in the next Chenoweth newsletter.

28 Apr 2005
Ford Chinworth
Virginia

I did the necessary research and was advised that in order to reprint the article for our circulation it would cost significantly more than what the Family Association could afford. I would have that that it could have been reprinted with their permission but I guess not. - editor

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Hi, Thanks for the newsletter. I read in the Courier Journal in Louisville, KY obit section; Litchfield, Kentucky - Christina Beck Chenoweth, died Friday (March 18, 2005). Funeral service 2pm Wednesday at Watkins-Oiler Funeral Home. Thought you might be interested. Talk to you later.

23 Mar 2005
Judy Kennedy

Thank you for the information. This is the 2d wife of David Mitchell Chenoweth. - editor

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After reading your update on William and the rest of the news, there is an error on the birth of my great nephew, Trevor Joseph Chenoweth. You have him listed as related to 2nd generation "Thomas". Should that be "William"???? Have a great day!!!
21 Mar 2005
Marilyn Gorham

You're right, I goofed. - Jon Egge

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Hi,...We have anew addition to Clara Mae... Marcia Lee (passed on Aug 21, 2003).. Cheryl Lee McDaniel-Cowan... Shannon Hunt... has Haley Anabelle 6-14-2001 and Chloe Marcia Hunt born Feb 25, 2005.

10 Mar 2005
Cheryl Lee McDaniel

Well congrats grandma! I am sorry to hear Marcia passed away. - Jon Egge

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I just wanted to let you know that we had a recent addition to our family and so the Chenowith family tree grows! Jillian Rose Akehurst was born to William & Terri Akehurst on January 26, 2005 in Baltimore, MD. We rejoice! Just to clarify this would be on John's line #7 under siblings William, Julia & Jared... granddaughter to your hosts for the 2006 reunion... Lois Sue Kidd Akehurst and William E. Akehurst!

10 Mar 2005
Terri Jones Akehurst

Thanks for the additions and congratulations. At some point we should get this tree detailed out - Jon Egge

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Add another Chenoweth...Dylan Jason Chenoweth born Oct 31, 2004... Lacy Round Franklin Chenoweth is 25yr old father. grandfather is Gary Lee Chenoweth, Sr...great-grandfather George Franklin Chenoweth who died 12 years ago.

10 Mar 2005
Gary Lee Chenoweth, Sr

Well that make you a proud Grandpa... Thanks. - Jon Egge

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Thanks for the updated news re the Chenoweth Website. I have some family news that should be noted in your records. My uncle, Dr Stuart Curran Chenoweth, son of Sibyl and Lawrence Chenoweth and brother of Dorothy Chenoweth Klausner and Lawrence Chenoweth, II, died on December 7, 2004. He was pre-deceased by his sister Dorothy (my mother), his brother Larry and his former wife, Bodil Genkel. Stuart had no living children.

Stuart was our family's genelogist and spent much of his retirement years researching his various family lines. He did a lot of research into the Chenoweth line and traced our lineage back to a house in Cornwall, England - from which he believed the name Chenoweth (in its original Cornish form) originated. He also became quite interested in the Baltimore connection with the Chenoweth family and believed that one of his female ancestors had a relationship with Lord Baltimore. Is there such a thing as a Chenoweth library where family records and research is maintained? Some of his research might be of interest for such a collection.

I noted in your e-mail that there is apparently a Chenoweth gathering planned in Baltimore this year. My son lives there and we go there often, so would be interested in hearing more about what is planned. By way of coincidence, there is a small, very old cemetery near my son's house that has several Chenoweth gravestones.

10 Mar 2005
Robert F. Klausner

Your uncle was listed in the In Memoriam deaths in the last issue of the newsletter. Dot had sent me a copy of his obit. As to the ties to Lord Baltimore, that is the old fable that was set forth in the Cora Hiatt book. Also in that book she traces the Chenoweth name back to the "Titled Chenoweths". That too is not true. As far as I know no one knows who John Chenoweth was. We do know his name "Chenoweth" Could have only come from Cornwall....Also would be interested in knowing the Baltimore cemetery you speak of. I have a somewhat put together list of Chenoweth burials in Baltimore. - Jon Egge

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I really appreciate the website and newsletters. I now have such a keen interest in finding out about our ancestry due to stumbling across the site a couple years back. Thank you. Just wanted to make an addition, if appropriate. On the WWI page of Chenoweths that served, my grandfather is not listed. His name was Thomas Leonard Smith, son of "Chen" Smith in the line of Richard of Lousville. He served as a medic.

10 Mar 2005
Charlotte (Shaye) Smith

Thank you for this addition to our war service page - editor.

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I am always interested in gathering any information on Amanda Chenoweth who married Elijah Garrett. I have information on Amanda from the time she married Elijah, I believe, in 1842 and their children. Amanda is my grandfather's great grandmother.

10 Mar 2005
David Garrett

Whereas we don't have this one proven, I do think what we have is right. It is certainly probable that Amanda was the daughter of Thomas Chenoweth and his wife Mary Dix. - Jon Egge

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Truly enjoy all the information you share with all of us. Keep up the great work! My e-mail address had changed and I would like to continue receiving your correspondence. Looking forward to 2006 reunion as I live just outside Baltimore.

10 Mar 2005
Jeffry L. Chenoweth

Looks like you moved as well! Thanks for the update. Maybe you would like to update the file as well. - Jon Egge

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This site still amazes me. It is incredible to see all of this family history. I'm trying to get Phillis Chatterton Riley's e-mail address. She moved to Colorado, and is somewhere near to me and I'd like to meet up with my relative! Do you have an updated email address for her?

10 Mar 2005
Barbara Dearing Ridgley

Sorry, the e-mail address I had bounced a while back. She was in Ft Collins, CO. Phillis was very helpful to me. - Jon Egge

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I don't read as carefully as I should, but what DNA project and what is the "Remembered Chenoweth page". I'm sure you have told us, but I missed it.

10 Mar 2005
Bob FitzSimmonds

The DNA project is looking for various Chenoweth named males in different lines to validate the tree. It only applies to direct son to son relationships bearing the Chenoweth name. This is the page for the Remembered Chenoweth project. In your case that would be your wife's grandparents, Zachary Taylor Chenoweth and Esther Eleanora Baird, but because of age she probably had little memory of them. It would be okay to substitute Janey Wilson Taylor Chenoweth instead. Go take a look. - Jon Egge

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One of these days maybe I will find another Chenoweth ancestor that has eluded you and Peter. Audrey and I will be celebrating our 50th anniversary on 19 Jun 2005. Our children have planned for the whole family to take a short cruise trip from Los Angeles to a port in Mexico. However, because of scheduling conflicts the trip will not be made until July.

19 Apr 2005
John McCall

Well congrats on the anniversary. Deanna and I will celebrate our 30th this year and Pete and Jan celebrated their 33rd this year, so we are way behind. Pete and I have most of the Censuses covered. I find most of my new Chenoweths today in obits and the SSA system. - Jon Egge.

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Thank you for the mailing of the newsletter. I enjoy reading it and staying up to date on your research. Please edit my email address and thank you for all you do.

22 Mar 2005
Angie (Chenoweth) Feltz

I am glad you are enjoying the newsletters and thank you for keeping the link. - Jon Egge

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Very good work on the newsletter and I noticed that you mentioned my nephew, Ryan Lebre somewhere. Maybe he submitted some information? Not sure, but thought I'd mention that he is working at the Catholic Ministry at the University of Hawaii now. Maybe when I get to the site I'll see if we've got cousins that live on the islands.

4 Feb 2005
Andy Woerly

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Hello, I stumbled onto your website by accident and have to tell you this is EXPERTLY done and just fascinating! My name is Aaron Brown and I am the grandson of James Grafton Brown, who was the son of Gertrude McKinney and I am a direct descendant of Lydia Ann Thurman and Asa McKinney. If there is any that I could ever be of help to you, please let me know and I can speak to my grandmother (wife of James Grafton Brown, who is now deceased) and would gladly pass along anything I can! Thanks again for the hard work!

8 Mar 2005
Aaron William Brown

You have me blushing....Yes this is a work of love, a full time hobby that I thoroughly enjoy. I am glad you found us. Brown is one of those impossible names. Chenoweth is odd and unique. I have some Browns in my tree way back. They were German Brauns, and morphed the name to Brown like Germans would do. The Thurman line of Mary Chenoweth of Clinton Co., IN is one those BIG blossoms. I have been helped on this by many people include the Thurman Family Study by Margaret W. Baird. I am really only an expert on the Chenoweth name and a mid-range sort of amateur at genealogy. But you are right, in ten years we have developed one fine family website. One of the treasures I have in my file is an 1849 letter from Ephraim Chenoweth to his sister Mary and brother-in-law, Elijah Thurman. It proved a descendant line I had corrected a few years prior. These things are remarkable. I would like your street or mailing address for my reference file. I would hope you would contribute to the file by adding in names and details of dates and places. - Jon Egge.



A Well Appreciated Donation

After reading our March Newsletter, Kay Bogart of Delaware gave a generous donation to our research. This allowed Pete to apply for 10 SSA applications than has resulted in helping whittle away at the list of unidentified "Chenoweths" in the system. The count is now down to 233 unidentified out of a listing of 1,944. These identifications have in turn added bits of knowledge to our database. The social security application is one of the few vital statistic documents that is actually filled out by the person himself. Information gleaned is often full names, names of parents, place and date of birth. The ten listings are as follows.

  • Carl Walter "Worth" b: Oct 20, 1894 issued: OR s/o William Worth and Ann H. Stump
  • Howard Crawford b: Nov 18, 1891 issued: CA s/o Joseph & Rebecca Ann Crawford
  • John Hayes b: 24 Aug 1887 issued: OR s/o John & Susan Carnahan
  • John Edward b: 22 Oct 1886 issued: OH s/o Joseph Edwin & Sarah Elizabeth Levisay
  • Joseph Harrison b: Mar 4, 1889 issued: TX s/o Cullen Colten & Nora Lunetta Milligan
  • Karl Fletcher b: Oct 30, 1896 issued: NJ s/o Washington Ellsworth & Nellie M. Cook
  • Milton Clyde b: Mar 12, 1878 issued: AR s/o John Casper & Mary Eliza Puckett
  • Oscar B. b: Dec 1, 1880 issued: OH s/o Oliver Buckman, Jr & Martha S. Morrison
  • Robert Carey b: Jan 14, 1899 issued: PA s/o Daniel Austin & Blanche Estelle Espy
  • William Herchel b: Sep 4, 1890 issued: IN s/o Harvey Arthur & Minnie May King

Nine of the ten belong to the main file as part of the family of John and Mary. Prior to getting this information we had only known the youngest son of William Worth and Ann H. Stump as "Worth" as found in the 1900 and 1910 Census. Now we know his real name and date of birth. We know he lived in Oregon until Aug of 1966. He is buried in the Willamette National cemetery, OR, so he probably served in World War I. Information for Howard Crawford corrects his date of birth from that given in the Harris book and gives us a place of birth as Nevada, Collin Co., TX. Howard apparently moved around as he was born in Texas, is found the 1930 Census in Michigan, applied for his SSN from California and ended up in Arkansas. He died in April 1970. We had suspected that the listing for John b: 24 Aug 1887 was the son of John Chenoweth and Susan Carnahan. Now we know this was correct and that his middle name was Hayes and his exact date of birth in Portland, OR. John died Feb 1981. The John born Oct 22, 1886 is John Edward the son of Joseph E(dwin). This adds middle names and identifies a 1900 Census listing where his mother Sarah Elizabeth Levisay has remarried. John is probably the John married to a Frankie with a daughter Thelma in the 1910 census of Jasper Co., MO. From there we have not found this family, but know that John lived until January 1967.

The application of Joseph Harrison tells us that his father's middle name was Colten. Karl Fletcher corrects the spelling of his name and gives us the middle name of Mary for his mother, Nellie Mary Cook. Karl was born in Hollansburg, Darke Co., OH and died May 1978. Somehow we had the wrong year of death for Milton Clyde and this has been corrected to Oct 15 ,1972, probably in Arkansas since that is where he lived. The information also added his mother's middle name, Mary Eliza Puckett. Oscar B., as we suspected was the son of Oliver Buckman, Jr. We now have his date of birth and that he moved to Ohio and died in Alabama in Oct 1969. The information for Robert Carey corrected his date of birth. The listing for William Herchel was very helpful. He is listed in the Harris book as Hendhel. Now we have his full name and know he died January 1965 probably in Missouri. This record gives us the name of his father as Harvey Arthur where we had Harvey R. from Census listings. We believe his actual date of birth should be September 04, 1892 matching the 1900 Census and making him younger than his brother Herman Arthur Chenoweth who was born on August 12, 1890. The SSA listing has Sep 4,1890.

This has been a great help. However I would be remiss if, in mentioning this, I did not also credit Jane Shaw for an earlier "in kind" set of contributions. Jane had offered to research Ohio listing for me a few years ago. One of her projects led to the family of Carl Beverage Chenoweth. Carl's death certificate lists his parents as Charles Beverage Chenoweth and his mother as Dealy. In reality, confirmed by Virginia Bird Johnson, Carl was the son of a Charles Beverage and Delia Chenoweth, the daughter of Marshall, born out of wedlock. We had puzzled over Carl in the 1900 Census where he is found living with Marshall and his mother Delia. Carl married to Ann Pritt and Jane was able to contact the children of this marriage in Ohio.

A couple of years prior I had conversed with the two widows of Marvin Chester Chenoweth. Leona, in San Diego was the mother of Marvin's three children. Margaret, his second wife, lived in Yakima, WA. Both died in 2003. But both had described Marvin as being from West Virginia with a group of siblings I did not recognize. I was puzzled as the genealogy of the West Virginia Chenoweths is such that it was hard to imagine where this family fit. As it turned out Marvin Chester was a son of Carl Beverage Chenoweth and all this detail fell into place.

Just recently I was contacted by Devon Ryker Chenoweth, whose great grandfather is Marvin Chester, making Devon a thirteenth generation Chenoweth in this West Virginia line.



IN MEMORIAM HONOR ROLL

Age 86 - MILTON E.9 BALLARD (IVIE LUDA8 LILLY, ADELIA FLORENCE7 HARLOW, ELIZABETH SUSAN6 CHENOWETH, GABRIEL5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born May 30, 1917, and died January 23, 2004. He married KATHRYNE EVA 'KATHY' LONG. She was born April 16, 1916, and died July 26, 1996 in Tucson, Pima Co., AZ.

Age 66 - DELORES JEAN9 BAILEY nee CHENOWETH (ROBERT NEWTON8, JOHN DOTHERDY7, ISAAC NEWTON6, WILLIAM PUGH5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born August 16, 1938 in Carrollton, Carroll Co., MO, and died March 09, 2005 in Waverly, Saline Co., MO. She married (1) RILEY CORTES HAMBLEN 1953. She married (2) DAVID BAILEY

Age 65 - DELLA JOE10 BAUGHMAN nee BURGESS (WILMA BERNICE9 BLAKE, LOLA MAE8 THARP, MARY ALICE7 SEARLES, CATHERINE6 CHENOWETH, HARVEY R.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) was born July 29, 1939 in Casper, Natrona Co., WY, and died May 23, 2005 in Saratoga, Carbon Co., WY. She married (1) JOHN EDWARD DICKS March 23, 1956 in Cheyenne, Laramie Co., WY. She married (2) ALVA WAYNE BAUGHMAN. He was born October 16, 1927 in Salt Creek, WY, and died in Wyoming. Della died on a rafting trip on the Platte River

Age 80 - EDGAR LYLE8 BLAKELY (BESSIE BELLE7 MULKEY, JOSEPHINE6 CHENOWETH, JACOB LOWE5, JOHN C.4, THOMAS3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born April 07, 1924 in Glide, Douglas Co., OR, and died February 12, 2005. He married CARLA BROWN.

Age 83 - HERBERT PAUL10 BRADLEY, JR. (MAURINE ANNA9 CHENOWETH, FRANCIS E. 'FRANK'8, WILLIAM HENRY7, WILLIAM COLUMBUS 'LUM'6, WILLIAM THOMAS5, WILLIAM4, ARTHUR3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born July 13, 1921, and died December 14, 2004.

Age ca 64 - FRANK EDWARD9 CHAMBERS (ALICE REBECCA8 CHENOWETH, JOHN BIRDINE7, JOSEPH W.6, WILLIAM5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born May 02, 1939 in Illinois, and died before December 2004. He married JUNE MYRTLE PAUL.

Age ca 41 - CHRISTINA CHENOWETH nee PAULIN was born Abt. 1963, and died March 18, 2005 in South Pittsburg, Marion Co., TN. She married DAVID MITCHELL9 CHENOWETH (WILLIAM DALE8, JACK HYDE7, WILLIAM ANDREW6, RICHARD5, RICHARD B.4, JOHN3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1)

Age 77 - GLENN THOMAS 'TOM'8 CHENOWETH (JOHN CARL7, REASON COLONY 'REESE'6, ARTHUR5, JOSEPH4, ARTHUR3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born April 07, 1928 in Ohio, and died April 24, 2005. He married DERINDA MARCELLA 'DEMI' MURPHY.

Age 76 - JAMES RICHARD8 CHENOWETH (JAMES WILLIAM7, WILLIAM ANDREW6, RICHARD5, RICHARD B.4, JOHN3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born February 24, 1929 in Benjamin, Knox Co., TX, and died March 15, 2005 in Paris, Henry Co., TN. He married IMOGENE 'JEAN' VAUGHN

Age 79 - JAMES RUSSELL9 CHENOWETH (JOHN LEWIS8, WILLIAM LEWIS7, MATHIAS ROSE6, LEWIS ROSE5, JOHN4, ARTHUR3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born August 25, 1925 in Kalispell, Flathead Co., MT, and died February 24, 2005 in Oregon. He married (1) MELBA DOBSON. He married (2) MARIA VICTORIA AMADEO.

Age 78 - MARGARET ROSE CHENOWETH, daughter of MILLARD KESTERSON and WILLIE McDANIEL, was born July 07, 1926 in Tennessee, and died March 22, 2005 in Tennessee. She married CLARENCE FREDERICK 'JIM'8 CHENOWETH (CHARLES RICHARD7, WILLIAM ANDREW6, RICHARD5, RICHARD B.4, JOHN3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born November 07, 1920 in Henry Co., TN, and died November 30, 2003 in Memphis, Shelby Co., TN.

Age unknown - NAOMI ? died Abt. 2004. She married CLIFFORD CORDELL8 CHENOWETH (WILLIAM GUY7, HENRY SEAMAN6, HENRY5, NICHOLAS4, JOHN3, RICHARD2, JOHN1) was born June 30, 1915 in Missouri, and died September 20, 1971

Age 99 - NORA ELLEN CHENOWETH nee WILLIAMS was born May 06, 1905 in Clay Co., IL, and died March 26, 2005 in Madison, Dane Co., WI. She married February 25, 1925 in Oakwood, Vermilion Co., IL. RUSSELL EMERSON8 CHENOWETH (JOHN HENRY7, WILLIAM C.6, WILLIAM5, THOMAS4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) was born February 22, 1907 in Champaign Co., IL, and died October 12, 1986 in Madison, Dane Co., WI.

Age 98 - OPAL ISABEL CHENOWETH nee COOKSON was born August 08, 1916, and died April 23, 2005 in Waynesville, Pulaski Co., MO. She married ROBERT ROGERS8 CHENOWETH (PERCY GRAYSON7, DAVID JOHNSTON6, JAMES HACKLEY5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born February 06, 1918 in Pike Co., IL, and died October 1974 in Pulaski Co., MO.

Age 77 - SHIRLEY GAYLE CHENOWETH nee SMITH was born December 21, 1927 in Afton, Union Co., IA, and died April 17, 2005 in Minnesota. She married August 24, 1947 PHILIP ELLIS8 CHENOWETH (LOUIS CASPER7, CASPER6, WILLIAM5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) was born July 31, 1923 in Galesburg, Knox Co., IL, and died October 14, 2004 in Minnesota.

Age 60 - THOMAS RAY 'TOM'9 CHENOWETH (ARTHUR WILLIAM8, WILLIAM HENRY7, WILLIAM HENRY6, HARVEY R.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM2, JOHN1) was born November 20, 1944 in Coldwater, Branch Co., MI, and died March 29, 2005. He married KAY L. SUMMERFIELD July 21, 1969 in Indiana.

Age 66 - NORMA JEAN9 CRESS nee STUMP (MARY MAE8 CHENWORTH, CLEMENT7, WILLIAM H.6, ROBERT S.5, ARTHUR4, ARTHUR3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born February 25, 1926 in Pierceton, Kosciusko Co., IN, and died March 04, 2005 in Germantown, TN. She married RAYMOND S. CRESS May 06, 1945

Age 83 - HARRY ANDREWS9 DAVIS (MILES VICTOR8, REBECCA ELLA 'ELLEN'7 CHENOWETH, ELIAS6, WILLIAM E.5, ELIAS4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born September 07, 1921 in Pennville, Jay Co., IN, and died March 21, 2005 in California. He married BARBARA WILLIA CAUSEY Abt. 1944. She was born May 02, 1927, and died September 18, 2002.

Age unknown - RUTH GAINER nee HERFORD died January 2005. She married April 06, 1940. MERWIN O.10 GAINER (BURL R. 'BURT'9, JEFFERSON DAVIS8, VIRGINIA ETTA7 GODDIN, RACHEL6 CHENOWETH, ROBERT T.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born October 07, 1914 in Oregon, and died February 23, 1994.

Age 91 - PEARL GODDIN nee KIRBY was born January 03, 1913 in West Virginia, and died September 18, 2004 in Arizona. She married June 29, 1934 WILLIAM ALTON9 GODDIN (JACOB LAWRENCE W.8, JUDSON CHENOWETH7, RACHEL6 CHENOWETH, ROBERT T.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born May 18, 1903 in Randolph Co., WV, and died July 15, 1991.

Age 68 - JAMES FRANKLIN11 HARVEY (GLADYS MARIE10 DUNIGAN, LAURA ISABEL9 WARTHEN, ROSIE ELLEN8 GOSS, MARGARET ANN7 APPLEGATE, CYNTHIA ANN6 WHITAKER, BLANDFORD B.5, MARGARET ELIZABETH4 SEATON, RACHEL3 CHENOWETH, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born April 23, 1936 in Paragon, Morgan Co., IN, and died March 06, 2005 in Franklin, Johnson Co., IN

Age 78 - WYNNE BEALE9 HENDERSON (HELEN KATHERINE8 BEALE, MATHEW CHENOWETH7, REBECCA BELL6 CHENOWETH, GABRIEL5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born June 12, 1926 in Winchester, Lewis Co., ID, and died April 20, 2005 in Yakima, Yakima, Co., WA. He married MARJORIE MAXINE WEBB November 05, 1950 in Reubens, Lewis Co., ID. (Wynne came to the 2004 reunion in Portland and before he died he documented the Beales of Garfield Co., WA from Rebecca Bell Chenoweth. I will miss him-JEgge).

Age 97 - MARSHALL S.8 JEFFRYS (BLANCHE C.7 SHIPLEY, SARAH JANE6 CHENOWETH, JOHN BAXTER5, WILLIAM4, ARTHUR3, ARTHUR2, JOHN1) was born January 03, 1907 in Las Animas Co., CO, and died August 24, 2004.

Age 79 - EMMETT OWENS10 KELLY (VIRGINIA ALICE9 GODDIN, WILLIAM BURR8, EMMETT O'BRIEN7, RACHEL6 CHENOWETH, ROBERT T.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born July 10, 1925 in West Virginia, and died October 01, 2004. He married HELEN WILLIAMS

Age 74 - BILLY RAY LAYNE, son of JOSHUA LAYNE and FANNY SWEET, was born May 23, 1930, and died November 19, 2004 in Botetourt Co., VA. He married MARGARET C.8 NININGER (SHEM CARLOS7, ROBERTA G.6 SWITZER, GEORGE WASHINGTON5, ELIZABETH4 CHENOWETH, THOMAS3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born April 30, 1924 in Botetourt Co., VA, and died January 25, 2000 in Botetourt Co., VA

Age 101 - ELSIE MAUDE7 LEAMAN nee CHENOWETH (GEORGE EDGAR6, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN5, LUKE4, ARTHUR3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born February 04, 1904 in east of Hinton, Caddo Co., OK, and died April 06, 2005. She married CLARENCE EUGENE LEAMAN June 11, 1922 in Caddo Co., OK. He was born October 17, 1900 in Oklahoma, and died August 12, 1965 in Oklahoma.

Age 73 - VAUGHN J.10 LEONARD (THELMA LOUISE9 CHENOWETH, FRANK LEE8, JAMES H.7, WILLIAM6, SAMUEL5, JONATHAN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born July 17, 1931 in Klamath Falls, Klamath Co., OR, and died March 30, 2005 in Oregon. He married ANN BARKLOW June 26, 1957 in MEXICO.

Age unknown - DOROTHY MATTOX nee FISHER died 2004. She married ERNEST8 MATTOX (ASA LEE7, EMILY J.6 CHENOWETH, LEVI5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born August 03, 1920, and died 2003.

Age 75 - NORETTA VEE MAYHEW, daughter of ARLO McCRARY and THELMA ?, was born January 10, 1929 in Oklahoma, and died October 22, 2004 in California. She married JAMES DAVIS8 MAYHEW, JR. (VELYMA REBECCA7 CHENOWETH, LINCOLN MORGAN6, LEWIS FOSTER5, JOHN FOSTER4, ELIJAH3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born September 23, 1925 in Enid, Garfield Co., OK, and died February 13, 2004 in Fort Bragg, Mendocino Co., CA.

Age 69 - ROBERT EDWIN McCAMMON was born September 15, 1935 in Columbus, Franklin Co., OH, and died January 26, 2005 in Tampa, Hillsborough Co., FL. He married June 27, 1959 in Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., OH CAROL YVONNE10 GERWIG (OSYE EVELYN9 STALNAKER, JAMES JASPER8, SULLIVAN ISAAC7, ELI CHENOWETH6, MARY M.5 CHENOWETH, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1).

Age 71 - JAMES FRANKLIN10 MINNEAR (JESS9, WILLIAM COLUMBUS 'LUM'8, RACHEL ELLEN7 CHENOWETH, EDWARD PUGH6, JEHU5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born September 22, 1933 in Hutchinson, Marion Co., WV, and died May 09, 2005. He married PEGGY LOUISE WEST February 26, 1955 in Worthington, Marion Co., WV, daughter of CASHUS WEST and RUBY STURMS.

Age 80 - ALAN KNOTTS RAFFAUF was born March 04, 1924, and died July 21, 2004. He married January 27, 1946. MARTHA FANCES10 TAYLOR (MARY ROSE9 GODDIN, WILLIAM BURR8, EMMETT O'BRIEN7, RACHEL6 CHENOWETH, ROBERT T.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born December 24, 1921 in Parkersburg, Wood Co., WV, and died June 24, 1991.

Age unknown - HAROLD SCILACCI died 2004. He married CLARA BELLE9 TUEY (LELAND MILES8, MILES CHENOWETH7, HESTER BRISCO6 CHENOWETH, JACOB VAN METER5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1)

Age 78 - BERNARD CHENOWETH9 SMITH (ISAIAH DAVID8, ELIZABETH JANE 'LOSIE '7 CHENOWETH, DAVID WASHINGTON6, ROBERT T.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born May 08, 1926 in Calhoun Co., WV, and died April 19, 2005. He married THELMA CHARLENE CALIHAN.

Age 1 month - MACKENZIE LYNN13 SMITH (NANCY ANN12 BEAVER, PEGGY KATHLEEN11 DUNIGAN JAMES NEAL10, LAURA ISABEL9 WARTHEN, ROSIE ELLEN8 GOSS, MARGARET ANN7 APPLEGATE, CYNTHIA ANN6 WHITAKER, BLANDFORD B.5, MARGARET ELIZABETH4 SEATON, RACHEL3 CHENOWETH, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born March 06, 2005 in Indianapolis, Marion Co., IN, and died April 16, 2005 in Indianapolis, Marion Co., IN.

Age 80 - WILLIAM HARLEY9 STALNAKER (FENTON K.8, LAVERNA7 CHENOWETH, ROBERT JAMES6, ROBERT T.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born September 01, 1924 in Calhoun Co., WV, and died May 04, 2005 in Yukon, AK. William was a veteran of World War II and had 4 children. William's line also goes back to Mary Chenoweth, the daughter of JOHN4

Age 74 - ELLA ROSE TALBOTT nee SCOTT was born November 16, 1930, and died February 10, 2005. She married April 08, 1956 in Oakland, Gannett Co., MD DARROLL L.10 TALBOTT (LUCRETIA JANE9 MCCULLOUGH, LORETTA8 FINDLEY, JAMES COLUMBUS7, DEBORAH ANN6 HART, ELEANOR 'NELLIE'5 CHENOWETH, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born January 22, 1925 in Kingsville, Randolph Co., WV, and died July 28, 2004 in Belington, Barbour Co., WV.

Age 78 - FOREST DELL10 WESTFALL (BARBARA ELLEN9 FRAME, HUBERT DYER8, RACHEL D.7 STALNAKER, ELI CHENOWETH6, MARY M.5 CHENOWETH, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) b. September 29, 1926, West Virginia; d. February 12, 2005; He married. MAY DALE DRAKE, October 07, 1967; b. September 21, 1929, Dansville, Livingston Co., NY; d. February 07, 2001.

Age 91 - VERA MAY8 SULLIVAN nee WESTLAKE (RHODA PEARL7 CHENOWETH, EDWARD WOODWARD6, WILLIAM5, JOHN4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born February 11, 1911 in Table Grove, Fulton Co., IL, and died February 15, 2005 in Peoria, Peoria Co., IL. She married MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN July 1936 in East St. Louis, St Clair Co., IL. He died December 05, 1954 in East St. Louis, St Clair Co., IL.

Age 85 - CHARLES DWIGHT9 WHITAKER (JOSEPH PRESTON8, JOHN MUGG7, BLAND BOWEN6, BLANDFORD B.5, MARGARET ELIZABETH4 SEATON, RACHEL3 CHENOWETH, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born October 30, 1919 in Wayne Twp., Owen, IN, and died March 02, 2005 in Cloverdale, Putnam Co., IN. He married LILLIAN MAY BEEM January 11, 1940 in Peru, Miami Co., IN. She was born October 09, 1917 in Owen Co., IN, and died August 23, 2001 in Avon, Hendricks Co., IN.

Age 69 - CECIL EVERETT WIGAL was born May 21, 1935 in Parkersburg, WV, and died March 16, 2005 in Bayonet Point, Pasco Co., FL. He married FANNIE MARIE9 CHENOWETH (CURTIS HANGER8, JOSEPH WOOD7, ROBERT JAMES6, ROBERT T.5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1)

Age 74 - RUBY ALLENE9 WILLIS nee ERWIN (GERTRUDE OLIVE8 THURMAN, ELIJAH NATHANIEL 'LIGE'7, JOSEPH ABSOLOM6, MARY5 CHENOWETH, ABSOLUM4, ABSOLUM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born December 02, 1930 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Co., OK, and died February 08, 2005. She married WILLIAM FRED WILLIS September 11, 1950 in Colorado. He was born May 08, 1928, and died September 19, 1995.


SONS OF JOHN1 - Arthur
By Jon Egge, WA
Part 4: A continuing series of the children of John
Part1: Richard
Part2: Thomas
Part3: William

This installment of descriptions of the children of John and Mary concerns Arthur, one of the two sons who remained in Baltimore Co., MD when the rest of the family moved off to Virginia. Arthur is the only son whose age we have exact dates for. We can confirm his birth by a deposition he gave. He outlived all of his siblings making it to the 19th Century. He was the first Chenoweth to record a land purchase. He seemed to prosper and so did his children.

The first record we have of Arthur is in 1737, when he is found living with his father John in the tax rolls of the Back River Upper Hundred. Though we do not have a date for his marriage, to Sophie "Saphira" Hooker, he must have married within the next couple of years for the birth of his first son, Arthur, Jr., was recorded as March 31, 1740. The land of Arthur was in the Soldier Delight Hundred, just north and west of Reisterstown. Here Arthur assembled over the years various tracts that would be diagramed in Cora's 1925 book and purported to be part of "Gunpowder Manor." It obviously was not. The westerly location however becomes an identifying aid when sorting out the earlier Baltimore Chenoweths between Arthur and his brother Richard who had remained in the original area where his father had lived. Arthur developed his property and built a mill that he successfully operated. Like his other 4 brothers, Arthur listed his trade as a blacksmith, the craft handed down from his father.

Arthur and Sophie had 8 known children, 6 sons and 2 daughters. The births of the first six were recorded at St. Thomas Parish in Baltimore Co., where Arthur would serve as a vestryman. The last two, Ruth and Richard, were mentioned with some of the other children in his will. Cora Hiatt gave marriages for each. Six of these would found lines to present day. Arthur mentioned his daughter, Hannah, as Hannah Ogg, but nothing is known about her husband or her family. Hannah was 58 years old when this will was written. William appears to have died before Arthur wrote his will, as he was not mentioned in it. There are two marriages given for him, but no children and it is uncertain as to whether he might be somehow mixed up with Richard's William, whose line is equally unknown at this point. Sons John and Arthur, Jr. were also omitted from the will, but both had been previously given land and both appear to have been well established. Arthur was generous with his children, the first born received ample lands on his marriage and the younger children provided for in his will. The youngest son, Richard, was the executor of this will and received the bulk of Arthur's lands, including his mill.

Arthur's families were not pioneers like the Virginia families. They moved off in groups, but to settled areas, and often became trades people or professionals rather than farmers. Some always seem to remain in each area settled including Baltimore. Migrations continued throughout the 1800s from these settlements. Some of Arthur's family established a large plantation in Virginia and one line from this family moved to New York and married a daughter to the then Mayor of New York City, Fernando Wood.

Many of Arthur's lines are badly misplaced in Cora's book. Only the Virginia sons of John and Samuel are correctly depicted. The Harris book repeats these mistakes and also misplaces the family of the son Richard whose lines were completely omitted by Cora. Three misplaced sons are found under the lines of Richard. The Virginia son of John(2), Arthur(3) is misplaced as Arthur Jr. Rather Arthur, Jr. married Ann Beasman and is listed as the son of Richard(2). So is Thomas, and the whole generation of the children of Thomas is skipped and the children of Thomas, Jr. listed instead, in much the same way as that of the Jonathan was skipped. This was corrected by Elmer Haile, Jr. and the children of Thomas were found by Dorinda Shipley. The son Richard was misplaced by Shirley Harris as the grandson of Richard by his son John. Another large part of Arthur's descendant, the lines of William of Hampstead and all the Randolph Co., IN Chenoweths that Cora Hiatt wrote about were misplaced under Richard and belong in a later generation as the son of Arthur, Jr.

Because the Arthur migrations went so many different places, the line is scattered everywhere today. Still there are many gaps, especially in the daughter lines. Today the majority of Chenoweths in Baltimore come from Arthur, primarily through his grandson William, the son of Richard. William married Amy Davis and had 10 sons, nine of whom married and had children. There is only one known daughter of William today. Other lines still traced in Baltimore today come from parts of Arthur, Jr. and Thomas. Lines of Chenoweths in the Berkeley Co. area are primarily from Samuel, the son of Arthur. This line carried the Chenoweth name in this area into the early 1900s. The son John who also settled in this area of Virginia moved off by 1860 just prior to the Civil War. Just recently we had some development of the daughter Ruth's Butler lines.

ARTHUR2 CHENOWETH (JOHN1) was born August 15, 1716 in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, and died March 14, 1802 in Baltimore Co., MD. He married SAPHIRA HOOKER Abt. 1738, daughter of SAMUEL HOOKER and SARAH ?. She was born Abt. 1720 in Baltimore Co., MD, and died May 16, 1800 in Baltimore Co., MD.

Children of ARTHUR CHENOWETH and SAPHIRA HOOKER are:

  1. ARTHUR3 CHENOWETH, JR., b. March 31, 1740, Baltimore Co., MD; d. 1803, Baltimore Co., MD; m. (1) ANN BEASMAN, 1758; b. July 27, 1740, Baltimore Co., MD; d. Unknown; m. (2) DELILAH (HELM) BOSLEY, July 29, 1778; b. June 10, 1745; d. Unknown.
  2. HANNAH CHENOWETH, b. October 20, 1742, Baltimore Co., MD; d. Unknown; m. ? OGG; b. Abt. 1740; d. Unknown.
  3. JOHN CHENOWETH, b. July 01, 1745, Baltimore Co., MD; d. September 11, 1820, Darkesville, Berkeley Co., VA (now WV); m. HANNAH CROMWELL, 1765, Anne Arundel Co., MD; b. November 20, 1742, Maryland; d. 1803, Darkesville, Berkeley Co., VA (now WV).
  4. SAMUEL CHENOWETH, b. December 12, 1747, Baltimore Co., MD; d. November 27, 1841, Berkeley Co., VA (now WV); m. (1) PATIENCE CROMWELL, 1770, Baltimore, Baltimore Co., MD; b. Abt. 1750, Anne Arundel Co., MD; d. Abt. 1784; m. (2) ELIZABETH (CROMWELL) MURRAY, October 06, 1785, Baltimore, Baltimore Co., MD; b. 1749, Dorchester Co., SC; d. June 22, 1808, Jefferson Co., VA.
  5. WILLIAM CHENOWETH, b. July 29, 1750; d. Unknown; m. (1) ELIZABETH RICHARDSON, April 08, 1789, Baltimore Co., MD; b. Bet. 1745 - 1765; d. Unknown; m. (2) HARRIET NORRIS, Private; b. Bet. 1746 - 1765; d. Unknown.
  6. THOMAS CHENOWETH, b. March 31, 1753, Baltimore Co., MD; d. Abt. 1801; m. ELIZABETH CARTER, Abt. 1774; b. Bef. 1758; d. Abt. 1835.
  7. RICHARD CHENOWETH, b. June 01, 1755, Baltimore Co., MD; d. 1828, Tennessee; m. (1) ELINOR ASKEW, November 14, 1779, Baltimore, MD; b. 1762, Virginia; d. Aft. 1821; m. (2) ELLEN HAMMER, January 14, 1823, Knox Co., TN; b. March 12, 1791, Maryland; d. November 23, 1859, Knox Co., TN.
  8. RUTH CHENOWETH, b. 1756, Baltimore Co., MD; d. Unknown; m. AMON BUTLER, JR.; b. December 24, 1750, Baltimore Co., MD; d. August 04, 1804, Baltimore Co., MD.


REUNION '06 WEBSITE

I was just cruising the Chenoweth site and noticed that I couldn't access Bill's Reunion information or pages. Also, as I was at the reunion last August, I wanted to update my email address with you.

18 Mar 2005
Lawra Duy

I have been trying to obtain information about the next reunion in Baltimore and when I click on the link to "Bill's Site" all I get is moved to Info-Desk Anxiety Portal. The same thing happens when I Google Chenoweth Family Reunion. Can you please help me by sending me information about the next reunion in Baltimore? Thank you.

24 May 2005
Greg Mason

We are truly sorry that this site is currently inaccessible. It is currently undergoing revisions and will be up and running in the near future. We will keep you advised as to its status. - editor



8870 Formula

(This article appeared in the "Augusta Chronicle" newspaper on Mar 24, 1995 in the column written by Bill Kerby, Deputy Metro Editor).

The 8870 Formula is a favorite of genealogists when they want to find birth dates. For some reason, many old tombstones don't have a birthdate. They simply offer the date of death and the time a particular person spent on earth. As an example, suppose the person died on May 6, 1889 and lived (according to his marker) 71years, 7 months and 9 days. But the birthdate is missing. Here's what you do:

- Convert the death date into one series of numbers, in this case 18890506 (1889-05-06). Now, subtract from it 710709 (71-07-09), the days the person lived.

- What you get is 18179797. Now, subtract "8870" from that and the answer is 1810927 or 1817-09-27. That is Sep 27, 1817.

And if you think that interesting, than next newsletter we can discuss Fibonacci's series and how to calculate the scales on a pine cone.


A MOMENT WITH THE WEBMASTER

[Jon] By Jon Egge
Cottage Lake, Woodinville, WA
Descendant of Dr Henry S.5 Chenoweth of Chillicothe, OH
JAMES FRANCIS4, THOMAS3, JOHN2, JOHN1

Cora Hiatt (1925)

Where would the genealogy of the Chenoweth family be today without Cora's 1925 book, "the History of the Chenoweth Family"? Though the work has been found flawed in many ways, it not only preserved many family lines for future research and development but it is full of key clues about these people. If we exclude the fables of the origins of the original family, the book is a wonderful guide on the Chenoweths and many of the daughter lines we have been able to follow. It is a wonderful family preservation. The bigger tragedy is the loss of the letters and submittals that formed its basis.

Yes, Cora misplaced a number of families. But even if they were misplaced, their story is still there and preserved just waiting to be adjusted. Cora herself admitted there would be mistakes. The idea that she could have placed every family but one that was sent to her in the short time she took to put this together stands as improbable in retrospect. The devil in the details has been sorting this all out. It is a three-step procedure. First there is the recognition that a story doesn't fit. This is followed by an interval of gathering the known facts and examining the possibilities in the tree. The conclusion of this is usually a theory that tells us where to look, and often the resulting research has resulted in a proof of the right placement. We have today many tools and a far greater accessibility of information than Cora had at her disposal back then.

The Harris book, published in 1994, "The Chenoweth Family in America", is a spectacular follow-on to Cora's book. Although it contains all Cora's mistakes with just a few corrections, it adds solid research in terms of Census data, cemetery records, and vital statistic information. Moreover it adds detail and flesh to many of these people and pushes the envelope further to present day families. The corrected tree we have developed today would have been infinitely more difficult without the research of Shirley Harris.

I truly believe that most of the 3rd through 5th generation errors have been uncovered and corrected. What remain are several large floating groups of unplaced families. These are not in Cora's book (remember she virtually placed them all). I count twenty misplacements in her book. Two of these are corrected in the Harris book and two are more added. But many of these twenty are paired mistakes of a misplacement that effected two parts of the tree. Some are even multiple misplacements of a chain reaction caused by "first" misplacement that caused the correct placement also to be misplaced. Even the one family she could not place, that of Randolph Chenoweth on his migration to the Oregon Territories, was a result of her failure to get information on the family of William Pugh right.

Even though we do not have the underlying documents which formed Cora's body of work, careful analysis gives us clues today of how some of this came about:

The placement of the family of William S married (1) Catherine Rinker as the line of William Pugh was one such start of a chain reaction. Perhaps the cause was that both William S. and William Pugh had parents named John and Mary. This caused Randolph to be unknown, but it created a vacuum under John(3) of Hampshire Co. to which Cora misplaced William, Jr. This in turn sapped most of the knowledge and story of William(2) away and in the place of William, Jr. came a jumble of names that really didn't exist, distortions of memory.

The Jonathan skip caused Samuel to be misplaced. The source of this skip was a mistake in a letter by Creed Lee Chenoweth and accepted by Cora.

The misplacement of Arthur, Jr. in Jefferson Co., KY causes a ripple of errors. I believe this one was a product of a deliberate alteration possibly by William Lewis who sent the bible page of Arthur into Cora. I have seen this page and the birth date of Arthur is not even close to the known birth date of Arthur, Jr. also found in her book. This Arthur was actually the son of John(2) of Frederick Co., VA. This placement precluded Arthur who married Ann Beasman from being placed right. It could have been this misplacement under Richard(2) that caused Cora to also misplace Arthur's son Thomas and Arthur, Jr.'s son William under Richard as well, for she may have known the family relationships but not where they belonged.

Cora misplaced Thomas who married Elizabeth Watson because of a misguided letter that was sent to her. We have now proven that Thomas was the son of William, Jr. of Berkeley Co., VA (now WV) and not the son of Richard, Jr. as Cora was led to believe. Cora was right that very little can be found about Richard, Jr. in today's records. We believe this may be the key to some of our "lost Baltimore lines".

Cora got confused over Ephraim B. Chenoweth, with two entries in her book for this name. She picked the wrong one to continue the line under, Arthur the s/o Thomas, when it should have been Absolom, Jr.

Cora misplaced my ancestors, the children of James Francis, under James of Perry Co., OH. She did not know of the existence of James Francis as a son of Thomas of Botetourt Co., VA. This caused her to misplace the real children of the Perry Co., OH James under Absolom the s/o Arthur in Kentucky. Lines of his marriage and rightful children have now been found.

These six mistakes resulted in most all of the twenty misaligned families. To me now, it is almost as if there is peace finally in the family structure. The discovery and realignment of these mistakes have spanned some seven years. This work could have never been done without the initial work and latter expansion of detail of both Cora Hiatt and Richard and Shirley Harris. If you are a researcher, you need both books. Always keep in mind, that because Cora follows daughter lines, there are clues and names in her book that are not in the Harris book.

Hezekiah

There are 5 instances of the name Hezekiah Chenoweth in the file. The first was born in 1817 in Franklin Co., the s/o John Foster Chenoweth and Margaret "Peggy" Ferguson. This Hezekiah married Lucretia Sidenor and lived his life in Ohio. He had a fondness for odd names giving us sons named Zenis and Zendoff. These two sons along with a brother Simeon headed west ending up in California. The families of Simeon and Zenis settled in the relatively remote area of Shasta Co. and descendants of these two brothers still live in the area, while others have moved down to the Sacramento area.

Next came Hezekiah Stites Chenoweth, the ancestor of Rosella Vohs, a researcher who has done yeoman's work in furthering family knowledge and flushing out the families of William S. of Allen Co., OH. Hezekiah, a grandson of William and son of Casper Chenoweth, was named for an Ohio preacher. Hezekiah left his family in about 1860 for the gold fields. He was never heard of again, one of a litany of family members who disappeared. The court declared him dead in 1866 and Sarah remarried to Daniel Brookhart a few years later. Rosella has looked long and hard without success to find his fate. Hezekiah named a son John Casper and John Casper's youngest son was also named Hezekiah just before the 1880 Census in Russell Co., KS. This Hezekiah will be discussed later on.

A fourth Hezekiah was the only son of John P. Chenoweth and his first wife, Ann Stout and a great grandson of Richard of Louisville fame. This Hezekiah is last seen in Clinton Co., IN at the age of 17 in the 1850 Census. What happened to him is unknown. The fifth Hezekiah was born in 1858 in Missouri, the son of James Chenoweth, Jr. and Nancy Skinner. This is in the Perry Co., OH line of James Chenoweth and Sarah McBride. Known as Hess, he is found twice in the 1880 Census. First in Jasper Co., MO with his parents and a second time in Leadville, CO with his brother, David. A year later he married Catharine Bray in Salida, Chaffee Co., CO. She died 4 years later in Dodge City, KS. What happened to Hess is not known. He is never found in another Census.

After that lengthy prologue, Hezekiah, the grandson of Hezekiah Stites, is the subject of this article. In January 1997, after we had been operating the Chenoweth website for a year, an Edward Joseph Chenoweth of San Mateo, CA contacted me. Ed's Aunt Donna had hit a dead end in her search for their ancestor Hezekiah Chenoweth of Nebraska, the great grandfather of Ed. Hezekiah had married Margaret May Taylor and had two children, a daughter who died young and Jesse H. Chenoweth the father of Donna and Ed's father, Alvin Howard. From records they had, they calculated that Hezekiah was born about 1883 in either Missouri or Kansas.

Hezekiah is a fairly singular name and was a loose match with the son of John Caspar, but Rosella thought this Hezekiah had died young based on family interviews. We came to no resolution at the time. A couple of years later Pete found a Hezekiah in the 1910 Census of Omaha, NE. He was, as Ed had related, a butcher and with his wife, May, and their son, Jesse. But in the Census, Hezekiah said he was 32 years old, born in Kansas. This put his birth prior to the 1880 Census and a more likely candidate to be John Casper's son. He and May had been married 6 years. She said she had had 6 children and all but one had died, that being Jesse, age 1 year, born Missouri.

I tried to reconnect with Ed, but his Email address had gone bad and he had never given me an address. In 1997 I wasn't smart enough to ask for this detail yet that I now require before I add someone to the cousin's list. So these tag ends sat until February of 2004 when Alison Marie, Ed's daughter, found us on the internet. This jogged me back to action. Using the information from the 1910 Census I again contacted Rosella laying out a case for this "placement". Rosella came up with information she had not told me before. First, they had found Hezekiah in the 1885 Agriculture Census of Kansas at age 4, so he had not quite "died young". Second Mary Esther Chenoweth (born 1903) had remembered an uncle "Hez", strongly suggesting that Hez had not died young at all. The more I looked at these records the more they seem to fit. The family of John Casper were all involved in the meat packing industry. Hezekiah had a brother Jesse. The family, though not found in the 1900 Census, had moved to St. Joseph, MO and is found there in 1910. John Casper died there in Buchanan Co. just two years prior. Ed's Hezekiah was in Missouri as late as 1909 when Jesse was born. The families of John Caspar are found in several locations in Nebraska in 1920. Jesse, the brother of Hezekiah, is then working in Omaha in the meat packing business.

These are not absolute proofs, but the facts now fit pretty well especially for such a rare bird as Hezekiah Chenoweth, so we have added in Ed's family line to the main file.

JOHN CASPER7 CHENOWETH (HEZEKIAH STITES6, CASPER5, WILLIAM S.4, JOHN3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born November 15, 1848 in Huntington Co., IN, and died July 04, 1908 in St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., MO. He married MARY E. PUCKETT May 02, 1869 in Decatur Co., IA, daughter of JOSEPH PUCKETT and MARY HOLOWAY. She was born March 10, 1848 in Ohio, and died October 23, 1936 in Missouri.

Children of JOHN CHENOWETH and MARY PUCKETT are:

  1. FRANCIS OTIS "FRANK"8 CHENOWETH, b. October 08, 1870, Decatur Co., IA; d. December 16, 1941, Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO; m. (1) LUCY SARA MILLER, January 11, 1894, St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., MO; b. September 23, 1879, St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., MO; d. January 10, 1903, St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., MO; m. (2) BESSIE CLEMENS, 1905, St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., MO; b. Abt. 1887, Missouri.
  2. JOSEPH C. CHENOWETH, b. January 01, 1872, Decatur Co., IA; d. December 29, 1936; m. LUCY JANE FARRELL, July 27, 1903; b. December 11, 1876, Nebraska; d. September 1963.
  3. JESSE CHENOWETH, b. August 20, 1874, Decatur Co., IA; d. May 1958; m. LETTIE ?; b. Abt. 1887, Iowa.
  4. JOHN J. CHENOWETH, b. August 20, 1874, Decatur Co., IA; d. May 20, 1948, Red Willow Co., NE; m. LAURA A. FARRELL, January 04, 1905, Cloud Co., KS; b. 1884, Nebraska; d. 1966.
  5. WILLIAM HAYDEN CHENOWETH, b. February 1876, Decatur Co., IA; m. MAUDE McALESTER, Abt. 1901; b. 1883, Kansas.
  6. MILTON CLYDE CHENOWETH, b. 1878, Russell Co., KS; d. 1941.
  7. HEZEKIAH CHENOWETH, b. 1879, Russell Co., KS; m. MARGARET MAY TAYLOR, December 23, 1904; b. 1879, Fort Scott, Bourbon Co., KS.
  8. (DAUGHTER) CHENOWETH, b. Aft. 1880, Kansas.

Albert Summerfield and the Rennix Family

In March of 1996, when I got my copy of the Harris book, Richard Harris, in the letter that accompanied the book, suggested I look up Albert Summerfield who lived on Greenwood Avenue in Seattle. That is close to Woodland Park and very near the first place that Deanna and I lived after we first met. Albert was a Randolph Co., WV Chenoweth from Martha 'Patsy', the daughter of William Pugh. This line is not in Hiatt as Cora misplaced the children of William Pugh, putting the children of William S and Catherine Rinker in their place. But though Randolph Co. is an isolated place, its genealogy record is very well known and the good folks of the valley were never swayed by Cora's mistake. Patsy, the youngest daughter married George Washington Rennix on January 14, 1845. Both spent their entire lives in this West Virginia area. Like most valley descendants, this connects to many other families. Patsy's mother was Lydia Kittle. George's mother was Sarah Wilmoth, whose mother in turn was a Currence.

Albert died on July 7, 2003 at the age of 91. I will miss his keen interest in Randolph Co. genealogy. Albert's ancestor was Luceba Rennix, one of eleven children of Patsy and George. Luceba married her Wilmoth cousin, Marteney Wilmoth, and their daughter, Hattie Bird Wilmoth, would marry William Albert Summerfield and in turn parent Albert, their only child, who was born May 17, 1911. Albert was one of my first introductions to Randolph Co. and had avidly pursued the genealogy of his ancestors. He introduced me to the book on Randolph Co. graves that Charles and Odie Chapman produced titled "They Rest Quietly". Because of the rich mixture of families in the area, this book has been a great resource in furthering Chenoweth genealogy lines of "Revolutionary" John.

Albert also introduced me to his cousin Lucille Rennix McHugh who lived in Sierra Madre, CA. Lucille was a daughter of Cornelius Stevens Rennix, one of the sons of Patsy and George. She was born in 1906 and we have had several conversations and exchanged information. I always remember her telling me how her father (born April 06, 1854) would tell her of times he and his father had walked Civil War battlefields the day following the conflict. With Lucille's help I began to gather back the Rennix lines. Still later H. D. Wilson, a descendant of Alba David Rennix would help me expand this even further.

MARTHA 'PATSY'6 CHENOWETH (WILLIAM PUGH5, JOHN4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born January 03, 1827 in Randolph Co., VA (now WV), and died October 05, 1904 in Randolph Co., WV. She married GEORGE WASHINGTON RENNIX January 14, 1845 in Randolph Co., VA (now WV), son of MAXWELL RENNIX and SARAH WILMOTH. He was born April 08, 1822 in Elkins Randolph Co., VA (now WV), and died April 18, 1894 in Randolph Co., WV.

Children of MARTHA CHENOWETH and GEORGE RENNIX are:

  1. HICKMAN CHENOWETH7 RENNIX, b. January 05, 1846, near Elkins, Randolph Co., VA (now WV); d. December 17, 1904, Randolph Co., WV; m. MARY JANE BURKE; b. March 07, 1849, Virginia.
  2. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 'LUM' RENNIX, b. March 11, 1847, Kerens, Randolph Co., VA (now WV); d. 1906, Hamilton, Ravalli Co., MT; m. LOTTIE M. ?.
  3. WILLIAM MAXWELL RENNIX, b. June 11, 1849, Randolph Co., VA (now WV); d. May 17, 1929, Elkins, Randolph Co., WV; m. ELIZABETH HARRIS, December 10, 1872, Randolph Co., WV; b. April 1856, Barbour Co., VA (now WV); d. 1945.
  4. SYLVENES RANDOLPH RENNIX, b. August 29, 1851, Randolph Co., VA (now WV); d. June 28, 1910, Kerens, Randolph Co., WV; m. (1) EMILY M. "EMMA" PARSONS; b. 1851, Virginia; m. (2) ALICE M. PHARES, May 20, 1888, Randolph Co., WV; b. August 1860, Randolph Co., VA (now WV); d. 1951.
  5. CORNELIUS STEVENS RENNIX, b. April 06, 1854, Kerens, Randolph Co., VA (now WV); d. March 25, 1955, Miami, Dade Co., FL; m. (1) MATILDA KATHERINE WEEKLY, September 20, 1879; b. September 14, 1861, Middlebaurn, VA; m. (2) SAMANTHA MADELINE GREEN, September 23, 1896, Foreman, Sargent Co., ND; b. August 15, 1875, Frazure, Buchanan Co., MO; d. July 25, 1960, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., CA.
  6. ALBA DAVID RENNIX, b. May 10, 1857, Kerens, Randolph Co., VA (now WV); d. September 14, 1904, Randolph Co., WV; m. AGNES VANSCOY, October 27, 1878, Tucker Co., WV; b. October 31, 1856, Randolph Co., VA (now WV); d. March 02, 1914, Kerens, Randolph Co., WV.
  7. LUCEBA RENNIX, b. March 01, 1860, Randolph Co., VA (now WV); d. July 21, 1936, Porterwood Tucker Co., WV; m. MARTENEY WILMOTH, August 28, 1881, Randolph Co., WV; b. April 12, 1859, Kerens, Randolph Co., VA (now WV); d. April 07, 1902, Kerens, Randolph Co., WV.
  8. THOMAS JACKSON RENNIX, b. January 02, 1863, Kerens, Randolph Co., WV; d. January 25, 1907, Randolph Co., WV; m. COLUMBIA J. PHILLIPS, June 18, 1885; b. November 1860, Virginia; d. 1922.
  9. JULIANNA RENNIX, b. July 02, 1865, Kerens, Randolph Co., WV; d. September 01, 1899, Elkins, Randolph Co., WV; m. JESSIE GRANVILLE VANSCOY, June 24, 1889, Randolph Co., WV; b. July 23, 1858, Barbour Co., VA (now WV); d. 1922.
  10. LYDIAN ANN RENNIX, b. November 07, 1867, Virginia; d. Bef. 1880.
  11. JOHN MORGAN RENNIX, b. August 07, 1869, Kerens, Randolph Co., WV; d. November 25, 1910, New Castle, Garfield Co., CO; m. LIEUVERNA MAY POE; b. Bet. 1864 - 1872.

A Typical Moment of Research

On April Fool's Day 2005, Dot Tucker Houk of Timonium, MD, who has become a regular partner in the building of the database, sent me a long narrative, she found on the internet, on Jacob Blackburn "Bun" Dean of Kansas. At the very end of six or seven paragraphs was the fact that his mother-in-law was an Olive Chenoweth who had married a Jacob M. Watson. Bun's bride was Lydia Anna Watson, born November 12, 1877 in Butler Co., KS. This is the core interest of the narrative as found by Dot:

"Mr. Dean was married at Syracuse, Kansas, February 28, 1910, to Lydia Anna Watson, who was born in Butler County, Kansas, November 12, 1877, a daughter of Jacob M. and Olive (Chenoweth) Watson. Mr. Watson, who was a school teacher and farmer, came from Ohio to Butler County, Kansas, in the early '70s. He was one of the organizers of the present town of Leon, Mrs. Dean being the first baby resident. Mr. and Mrs. Watson had three other children, Thomas D., Charley J. and Nelle V. The family moved to Morton County, Kansas, in March, 1887, and later across the line into Baca County, Colorado. Several years previous to her marriage Mrs. Dean taught in the rural and graded schools of Kansas and Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Dean have one child, a son, Jacob Bertram, who was born at Coolidge, Kansas, December 24, 1910."

I first looked for an Olive in my file that would fit without success. Next I checked my 1880 Census CDs, a resource that I treasure ever since acquiring a set from the LDS family search center in Salt Lake City in 2001. Sure enough, in Butler Co. was a Jacob Watson with two daughters, Lydia and Nola. Lydia was 2 years old in the Census. The wife was Mary O, born age 23 in Ohio. Back to the database I went, now looking for a Mary Olive, I found that Richard Prather and his wife JoAnne Skidmore had come to Butler County in the 1870s from Logan Co., IL. They had a daughter Mary born about 1857 in Ohio who we had tracked in the 1860 and 1870 Censuses, but who had not been with the family in 1880. Now here she was, two pages away as Mrs Mary Olive Watson. Everything fit.

The short detail given allowed me to trace the Watsons and the Deans through each successive Census to 1920. All this was done in an hour's time, while sitting at my computer at home. What an enhanced world we have today for the never-ending inquiry into the Chenoweth family. In prior times, a researcher would have had to wait patiently for an opportunity to visit the archives and reel through microfiche. Today, most Census data is a few clicks away. The pace of research has accelerated many fold through the internet. I no longer grumble about the $500 dollars a year that I pay in property tax for support to the King County Library System, since I found they allow me access to The Heritage Quest Census data from my home. The 1930 Census still requires me to visit the library for access to its detail or request a lookup by Pete, who subscribes to Ancestry.com. This last Census often will provide an opportunity for finding a living descendant that can bring the tree up to date.

In 1996 when we were just beginning this venture, I was a complete novice and relied on Pete to make his visit to the archives. Weeks would go by and additions came slowly. Now when presented with new leads, Census confirmation and detail are at one's fingertips. The ready availability of recent Censuses provides almost endless opportunities for Pete and I to extend parts of the database from the many branches of the tree that we have developed. The activity has changed. In the early years we spent most of our time searching for trees, now we devote more time to extending the hundreds of branches we have developed.

In the last four years Pete and I have built up a strong Census documentation on the family. Search mechanisms are enhanced tools to aid the research, trying various field searches to explore the mysteries of the Census. The coverage of the Chenoweth name is virtually complete for every Census based on present day indexing. With my trusty 1880 Census set, I have a complete, family wide detail of the entire family including daughter lines. This last year I completed this same baseline for the important 1850 Census and posted that data to the website. We are in the slow process of setting up to do this for the 1860 Census. It is truly a golden age.

MARY OLIVE6 CHENOWETH (RICHARD PRATHER5, JOHN C.4, THOMAS3, THOMAS2, JOHN1) was born November 1857 in Darke Co., OH and died after the 1920 Census. She married JACOB M. WATSON Abt. 1875. He was born August 1848 in Ohio and died before the 1920 Census

Children of MARY CHENOWETH and JACOB WATSON are:

  1. LYDIA ANNA7 WATSON, b. November 12, 1877, Butler Co., KS; m. JACOB BLACKBURN DEAN, February 28, 1910, Syracuse, Hamilton Co., KS; b. October 12, 1870, Corydon, Wayne Co., IA. - one son: JACOB BERTRAM b: December 24, 1910 in Coolidge, Hamilton Co., KS
  2. NOLA WATSON, b. Abt. November 1879, Bulter Co., KS., died young
  3. THOMAS D. WATSON, b. February 1881, Butler Co., KS; m. BESSIE G. ?, Abt. 1906; b. Abt. 1895, Kansas. - one son: ALVA D. WATSON b: Abt. 1912 in Colorado
  4. CHARLEY J. WATSON, b. August 1884, Butler Co., KS; m. LILLIAN ?; b. Abt. 1891, Colorado. - two children: DICKIE D. WATSON b: Abt. 1915 in Kansas and MARY A. WATSON b: Abt. 1917 in Colorado
  5. NELLE V. WATSON, b. May 1887, Kansas.

Time Never Waits, my Lament

Sometimes you can feel the grains of sand as they slip irreversibly and relentlessly through the hourglass. Genealogy is subject to the winds of opportunity and the relentless ticking of the clock. We are in our 10th year of the Chenoweth website. Part of its foundation was the fifteen-year research by Richard and Shirley Harris. Shirley ran out of time. She had never sat down to write a book, as she never wanted the joy of genealogy to end. Richard sat down and wrote it in her memory to preserve the work that she had done. The benefit is to the family. Before the Harris book, there were years of work by Cora Hiatt, and between and around, so many more family studies and research. It strikes me sometimes how often people fail to seize the opportunity. The windows only exist for a while.

How remarkable it is today to sit down and read the letter of Thomas Scott describing what he knew of the Chenoweth family in his twilight in Chillicotte, Ohio 1851. While feasting on his words, one also notes the gaps of what was missed or not said. Why didn't he say more? Why were there not more Thomas Scotts? One hundred years from now, who will be the descendants that are left wondering why didn't someone set this down? Genealogy is always playing catch up.

Pete and I, based on the work of many, have been able to bring the family genealogy a long ways. Through 1930 we are presently tracking almost 2,800 males named Chenoweths in the family. We believe about 1,700 of them were still living. In the 1850 Census we have found over 740 families and 3,800 family members, establishing a base line to move forward. Since the site was started 486 people named Chenoweth have died and are listed in the SSA system, 55 we have yet to identify. Seventeen people who have richly contributed to the website have died and their loss is felt. Wynne Henderson contacted me just before the 2004 Beaverton Reunion. He and his wife Maxine were a delight and Wynne's contribution of the Beales of Rebecca Bell Chenoweth will be a treasure forever. Wynne died this April, I knew him but a few months, but he will not be forgotten.

The missed opportunities haunt me. Only one in ten letters I send out are ever replied to. One out of five phone calls is to someone who is not interested or sometimes even hostile to the intrusion. These will put me in a funk for a while, before I steel myself to try again with someone else. Contacts will write "I have looked at the site for several years now".... But they hadn't taken that short moment to add to the knowledge. Or they will write, "I am a Chenoweth" and then disappear without so much as a goodbye. I have asked people to send information a number of times over a period of years, always with positive assurances and never with any follow through. Ships passing in the night, time slipping away.

We are forging ahead on many fronts, but there are always gaps and it is sometimes painfully slow. The DNA project has great promise and few volunteers. How ironic that the marker has to be tracked through males, if it was female, we would probably be a lot further along. I am baffled as to the reluctance. In Portland after the speech by Diahan Southard at least 5 or 6 people stepped up with interest, only one followed through. The program is completely anonymous and the DNA only used to identify the family genetic markers. Genealogist spend hundreds of dollars on an ongoing annual basis in pursuit of hidden knowledge and the one time $200 test seems too expensive to some. I wonder sometimes why more people don't see the big picture, the chance to document an extraordinary history before it is lost.

Chenoweths always have taken an interest when they see the name, but much of that is casual chit-chat. The real history and record is so much more interesting. There are few families as well documented and developed as the Chenoweth family, but the opportunity to do so much more is real. The question becomes, how much of this opportunity will be squandered by indifference, when all it takes is a few moments in time. A genealogist invests his time and money in search of information for the general good of preserving it. I've been doing this for 10 years now. How much time do I have left? I don't know, but recently I had a stroke, sort of a wake up call. Though I am fine, I think I will be lucky if I have another ten with good memory. Life is fleeting at times. At each turn, the person doing the advancement of this family history has left the process without an heir apparent, Cora's research was lost in a fire. Richard Harris resigned having written the book of Shirley's research. People often do not understand the gift they are presented with: that random moment in time.



Take My Word For It!

Thanks very much, Pete, for your kind comments about my books in the latest Chenoweth Family News. I appreciate it. While I was working in Washington, I once checked out the "Chenoweth" listings in the Library of Congress. If I remember correctly, there were only fourteen. Bound to be quite a few more by now. I have emailed to you some of the short mystery stories I have written. The locale is Alaska and most of the main players are based on persons contained in my book.

11 Mar 2005
James Harvey Chenoweth, Jr

We thank you for those short stories and offer one of them now for our readers enjoyment. Originally printed in October 1999 issue of Momentum under the pen name of Macavity and titled: Take My Word For It! - editor

"Nice to meet you, Macavity," was what I heard in a somewhat hearty voice from the newest member in Mensa Chapter. "I've been told that the eccentric nature of our English language is one of your specialties."

"He's not a grammar specialist," another Mensan growled. "Hell, he's a lawyer!"

"Very nice! I've always thought how convenient it is for lawyers to work within a set of explicit precedents. Rules about civil or criminal procedures. Lots of prior opinions to refer to. A judge to make legal decisions. A jury for simple verdicts, - either guilty or innocent. Everything is black or white in law!"

"Not quite," I murmured.

"What?"

"In Scotland, a third verdict is permissible; a verdict of 'not proven'. Some legal systems do recognize shades of gray between black and white."

"But here in America."

"Even here," I interrupted, "the accused is allowed to plead 'no contest', which means that while he refuses to say he's guilty, he will offer no defense. (He or she, of course.)"

"But don't lawyers basically deal with tangible things, such as fingerprints, forged signatures, tire marks or bloody weapons? How does that square with your interest in semantics? Is your interest simply a hobby?"

"By no means. Direct evidence from witnesses consists of words. Circumstantial evidence (the tangible things to which you referred) has to be introduced and explained by someone, which is also done with words. Any words uttered under oath in court are subject to cross-examination and can be countered by words from other witnesses. A close attention to words is vital for lawyers."

He was reluctant, "I can't believe that words may be more important than factual evidence."

"Words can clarify those facts. They can also obscure facts." I glanced over at him. "You look a bit dubious. Perhaps I can give you an example. How good are you at mental arithmetic?"

He shrugged. "Pretty good, I guess."

"Okay. Now suppose you're a driver on a bus going from Nashua to Manchester. At the starting terminal, thirteen people climb aboard. Nine people get on at the first stop. At the second stop, six people enter the bus but eleven get off. No one enters the bus at the next stop but three passengers leave it. Then after that, five people board just before the bus arrives in Manchester."

He was nodding his head thoughtfully.

"As they say in our New England town meetings, are you ready for the question?"

"I bet I'm ahead of you," he shot back. "There were nineteen people on the bus when it got to Manchester."

I shook my head. "If you had said 'passengers', you'd be right but since you said 'people', you should have included the bus driver and that would make it twenty, not nineteen. However, that's not the question I was going to ask."

"Oh, I get it. You were really going to ask me how many stops the bus made. Wait a minute now." He paused. "The starting terminal doesn't count so after the bus left, it made four stops before it reached Manchester."

"Actually, that wasn't going to be my question either. What I want you to tell me is whether or not the bus driver wore glasses?"

"Hey, come on!" was his startled reply. "How could I know the answer to that?"

"You should know," I told him. "As I said in the beginning of the problem, you were the bus driver."


TIDBITS

(Courtesy of rootweb.com (12 Sep 1997)

I am curious as to the why woman were usually buried on the left side of man. (Hazel & Wally)

Mary Russell replied: I was told when I was learning to be a woman that a woman walks to the left of the man for three reasons. (1) he carries his gun at his right side and wouldn't want her in the way if he needed to protect her. (2) He is walking next to the street and she is at his left so that passing buggies, horses or cars cannot splash her. (3) most doors open from the left side so the man can reach out with his right hand and open the door for the lady. I suppose since she has been on his left side all her life that it's the place for her after she dies. Also her being on his left would mean that He is on her right, and he was her strong right arm all his life, so it is appropriate.

Good response. This may go back to the days of chivalry when the knights wore their swords on the left side and, like the fun carriers, wanted to have the right hand free/unencumbered in case of attack. - editor


DO YOU KNOW THESE PEOPLE?

In the last two issues we presented 224 individuals that had not been identified. In this issue we present the final 38 individuals for a total of 262. Since then 29 of those have been identified. This may not seem like a lot but each one is a step in the direction of complete identification. It should be noted that with regards to the death date, dates that are the 1st or the 15th could be default dates and only the month and year should be considered. Any help in identifying these individuals would be greatly appreciated.