An Abundance of Marriage Records for Frank and Katie (Saltonstall) Miars

Sometimes in my family history research I struggle to find even one mention of a family member anywhere. I have the opposite situation with my great grandparents where I have multiple documents about the same event.  As frustrating as not having anything is the excitement at having more than one document is just as intense.

More than a decade ago when I was starting my family history journey, I found the date and location of the marriage of my great grandparents, Frank and Katie (Saltonstall) Miars in multiple online index databases.  At that time I really didn't know where or what to do with that information or how to go about getting the actual original records of this important event.  So I just recorded the information in my software program where I keep my family tree and went on with research in other areas. (I did at least include in my family tree the source of that marriage information!)

As part of trying to figure out what happened to Katie's father, Thompson J Saltonstall, I realized that maybe her marriage record from 1893 would offer some clues.  By this time I was well acquainted with the process for obtaining vital records in Tazewell County, Illinois where Katie and her husband Frank were married.  But also I had seen where the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society had some original marriage records from this time period.  So I sent them an email to see what they had. Very quickly I received the following Return of Marriage to County Clerk.

Return of Marriage for Frank Miars and Katie B Saltonstall (1)

Great!  This is what I was looking for - the license application that would provide personal and family details for the bride and groom.  I read through the information provided for the groom and found everything to be as I had expected.  His parents names, residence, occupation, and age all were in line with what I had previously uncovered about him.  I then moved to the details about the bride and found an unexpected entry for, Katie's father.

The information I had about my great grandmother's father was that his name was "Thompson J" - not "Peter" as the marriage license stated.  "Peter"?!?!?!  Who was that?  Where did this first name come from?  I knew (or thought I knew) that "Thompson J" was Katie's father's name.  I have family papers from her daughter (Mary E (Miars) Best) stating this.  I have the marriage record of Katie's parent's which lists her father's name as "Thompson".  I have census records for him that list his name as "Thompson". I also assumed that the details on Katie's marriage record would have come from her or the groom.  Both of which should know the name of Katie's father.  Why is his name now listed as "Peter"?  Are they the same person?

At first I was irritated about this new information.  I have uncovered a couple of Revolutionary War patriots and Mayflower passengers in Thomspon's line.  I need a quality source though to identify Katie as the daughter of Thompson. This marriage record was supposed to be that link and now it isn't.  Because Thompson disappears after 1875 and Katie was born in 1872 (2) they are never enumerated together in any census.  I have yet to find any obituary for him or his mother (Isabella Paine Saltonstall McCoy) who likely outlived him as the newspapers from that time or place are not extant.  I needed this marriage license for Katie to say some different than it did.  I will write more about the search for "Peter Saltonstall" in a subsequent post.

The second document I have for my great grandparents comes from FamilySearch which has a number of collections digitized from Tazewell County, IL (why can't Peoria County do this?!?!?).  A search in those online records found Frank and Katie's marriage recorded in the County's Marriage Register Book 2.  One entry in the register crosses both facing pages.  In the image below their record is identified with an arrow.  It should be the same exact information as on the marriage return above and it is.  Katie's father is listed as "Peter". 

Tazewell County, Illinois - Marriage Register for Frank Miars and Katie Saltonstall (3)

It is wonderful to have both of these images of records created by Tazewell County, IL upon the marriage of my great grandparents.  But recently I was reviewing the papers left by Frank and Katie's daughter (my great aunt), Mary E (Miars) Best.  I was trilled to find a booklet commemorating her parent's marriage.  

Marriage Certificate booklet - Frank Miars and Katie Saltonstall 7 Mar 1893 (4)

Marriage Certificate booklet - Frank Miars and Katie Saltonstall 7 Mar 1893 (4)

Marriage Certificate booklet - Frank Miars and Katie Saltonstall 7 Mar 1893 (4)

Marriage Certificate booklet - Frank Miars and Katie Saltonstall 7 Mar 1893 (4)

It is absolutely beautiful and other than yellowed pages it is in good condition.  The original string that ties the booklet together is still holding all the pages in good order. How about the handwriting!  It is beautiful as well. The information included on the "This Certifies" page is consistent with the marriage return and register.  I love it when this happens!  My working hypothesis is that this was created by the entity that performed the ceremony.  In this case the clergyman was "G. W. Ballenger".

Rev. Ballenger's full name is George Walter and I have seen his name many times as the officiant at other Miars/Hodgson/Dillon weddings in Tazewell County. He would have been well known to my great grandparents.  Just a few years after he married this couple his wife died.  He married for a second time to Frank's first cousin, Anna Robison (daughter of Frank and Mary Jane (Miars) Robison).  I need to add G.W. Ballenger to my list of future blog posts because he has a rather tragic story about his upbringing that should be told.

I also need to add to my list of "to-dos" is to research the two witnesses.  "Mr. John Whisler" is interesting to me as Katie's mother, Cathering (Ringenberger) Saltonstall Augsburg VanDyke has a sister who was married to a Whisler.  I wonder if there is a family connection in the choice of this witness.  Figuring out who the witnesses are and the relationship to the happy couple may also help identify the specific location of the marriage.  That piece of information is really the only element of the story of this wedding that is not documented.  More research is needed!  No surprise there.

Once more I can thank everybody, from my great grandparents to my mom, for keeping this beautiful family artifact safe so it could be digitized and preserved for generations to come.  It is wonderful to have multiple pieces of evidence for my Frank and Katie's marriage.

Related Blog Posts -

A Letter from "Uncle Roy" to Mary E (Miars) Best
Bramble School and the Miars Family of Jubilee Township
A Teacher's Contract - Mary (Miars) Best - 1843-1944
Mary Best Miars (1906-1986) - Happy 113th Birthday!
A Teacher's Teacher - Lulu (Petty) Eicher
20 Years Ago - The Passing of Robert T Miars
Robert Miars and Bessie Purcell - Breaking Down Barriers to Justice
Clara (Miars) Barker - 123rd Birthday - October 12, 1896


Bibliography -

(1) Tazewell County, Illinois, return of marriage license no. 4098 (7 Mar 1893), Frank Miars and Katie Saltonstall; digital image, Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society sent to author on 13 Aug 2019.
(2) Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 65008 (19 May 1955), Katie Saltonstall Miars, Peoria County Clerk.  See also "Mrs. Miars of Brimfield Dead at 82," undated newspaper clipping, from unidentified newspaper; in the possession of the author.
(3) Tazewell County, Illinois, "Vital records, 1827-1922," database and images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 13 Aug 2019), FHL film no. 1314688, DGS no. 7616361, image 683 of 718, Frank Miars and Katie B. Saltonstall, 7 Mar 1893; Register of Marriages book 2, p. 73.

(4) Frank Miars and Katie Saltonstall, marriage booklet, 7 Mar 1893, personal  papers of Mary E. (Miars) Best; privately held by Diane Minor, Plano, Texas, 2020.

20 Years Ago - The Passing of Robert T Miars (1915-1999)

Today it has been twenty years since my grandfather, Robert T Miars passed away.  The anniversary comes up each year just before Thanksgiving and it takes me back to the months and weeks before he passed.  It takes me back to the visits and conversations I had with him during that time.  I remember the last time I saw him, just a few days before he died. I remember lots of things about that time but that is really not how I want o remember him now.

I would like to remember him when he was young and growing up.  When he was was healthy and happy and life was just beginning for him. Before he had a wife, children and a business to run.  Back to the days when he was just a kid.

Here is one of the earliest pictures of him that I have seen.  It is probably from about 1918 when he was two or three years old.  But where was it taken?  My grandfather was born on 5 Jun 1915 in Elm Grove Township, Tazewell County, Illinois. [1]  He was the youngest of nine children born to Frank and Katie (Saltonstall) Miars.  The farm he was born on had been in his family just a few years less than 100.  Is that where this picture was taken?

Robert T Miars, ca. 1918, location unknown.

Robert was not to live in Elm Grove for long.  Although all of his older siblings had been born and raised there, life was changing for his parents.  The Miars homestead was being sold just a few years after Grandpa was born and the whole family moved to a new farm in Jubilee Township, Peoria County, Illinois.  The big moved happened around 1917 or 1918.  Maybe this picture of him was taken at the new place.

Robert T Miars, about 1920, location unknown.

Here is another photo from his younger years.  This is probably from about 1920 and most likely was taken in Jubilee Township, Peoria County, Illinois.  Maybe it was for first day of school?  Whatever the occasion was he is dressed up and ready to go.  The property that his parents owned is now part of the Jubilee State Park.  I need to do more research to figure just which area of the park belonged to my great grandparents.

Robert T Miars school photo, ca. 1925.  He is at the far right on second row.

Grandpa would have attended the local school in Jubilee.  This class photo has him standing at the right end of the second row and next to his lifelong friend, Tom Flynn.  I need to go through his high school yearbook to see if I can identify any others from this photo.  Many of them would have gone to high school with Grandpa.  I am not for sure where this school was located.  It may have been the school that used to stand at what is now the entrance to the Park off of Route 150 (down the hill from the old dairy and rock garden).  More research needed on this point also.  He likely was the only one from his family that was in this school.  His next older brother Albert "Dutch" would have been high school age by the time this photo was likely taken around 1925.

Robert T Miars, senior class photo, Brimfield High School class of 1933

Finally, this is one of my favorite pictures of him from throughout his life.  It is his senior class picture and was likely taken in 1933 or 1932.  By now though, life is getting serious for Grandpa.  His father (Frank) died in 1932 the year before Grandpa's high school graduation from Brimfield High school. [2]  The farm in Jubilee is sold and he and his mother move into town.  Now he knows he needs to get a job.

But somewhere in this photo of him I see in his eyes the young man that is just starting out in life.  He seems to be looking forward to what life has to bring and to the family that he would be raising in Brimfield.  In this photo, all of that is yet to come.

So for today, this is how I will remember my Grandpa....twenty years after he passed.

Related Blog Posts -
Clara (Miars) Barker - 123rd Birthday
Mary (Miars) Best
Pearl (Walkington) Miars
Robert Miars and Bessie Purcell
Lulu Eicher - A Teacher's Teacher

Bibliography -
[1] Tazewell, Illinois, amended birth certificate, local file no. unknown, 1915 (issued 24 Sep 1940), Robert Thomas Miars, formerly "Miars"; Tazewell County Clerk, Pekin.
[2] Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 14669  (3 Feb 1932), Frank Miars, Peoria County Clerk, Peoria.

A Teacher's Teacher - Lulu (Petty) Eicher (1877-1972)

You never know when doing family history research where the road will lead.  A few days ago I was going through pictures and artifacts left to my mother by my great aunt, Mary (Miars) Best.  I found this picture that was not familiar to me.  Thankfully, when I turned the photo over there was helpful writing!!

In pencil on the back of the photo it says "To Mary From Mrs. Eicher".  But who is that? I have never heard this name. Below that writing in pen and in different handwriting it says "My 1st Grade Teacher".  Now my first question was answered - this is a photo of Mrs. Eicher who was Mary's first grade teacher.  But who is Mrs. Eicher and which Mary (there are several in my family!)?

Thankfully, very quickly I recognized the handwriting in pen as that of my great Aunt Mary (Miars) Best. (See related post below for link to a post about Aunt Mary.) She was an elementary school teacher in Peoria County, Illinois for most of her adult life.  How cool is this to find a picture of her teacher!!  But I still didn't really know who "Mrs. Eicher" was or where she taught.  Aunt Mary Best would have attended elementary schools in Elm Grove, Tazewell, Illinois as well as Jubilee, Peoria, Illinois.  It didn't take long to get the answers I was looking for.

Some fellow family history researchers are going to cringe when I say that my first stop was Find A Grave. (1) I searched for anyone with burials in Tazewell County, Illinois and the last name "Eicher".  I came up with a list of several people but when I excluded the males from the list I only had about three female names remaining. I had no first name on the photo to go by so I looked at each of the memorials to see if there were any clues in them.  One of the memorials had an obituary included which after reading it I knew that this was not my person.  Also, all but one of the remaining people were born in the 20th century so I excluded them as well.  Aunt Mary was born in 1906 so no person born after 1900 was going to be who I was looking for.  That really left me with two potential people left.  There was nothing on their memorial page to indicate that they were or were not my person so I had to keep looking.

Next I turned to census records and started with a global search on Ancestry of females in Tazewell County, Illinois in 1910 who's last name was Eicher.  I chose 1910 because I knew that Aunt Mary would have attended school there in the early part of that decade.  By 1920 her family had moved to Peoria County.  This search yielded several different kind of records for a "Lulu Eicher".  There were records for the census for several different years as well as an obituary.  One of my remaining possible memorials on Find A Grave was named "Lulu Petty Eicher"!  How exciting!  Could this be my person?  I opened up the census image for 1910 in Ancestry and saw this person had an occupation listed as "Teacher"!!!  (2)

One thing I have learned as a researcher is to look at the pages before and after the subject family.  Many times our ancestors lived close to other family members which could be listed on census pages close to our family. Well...sure enough when I turned to the census page before the one I found Lulu on there was the enumeration for my great grandparents, Frank and Katie Miars with Aunt Mary listed in their house. Mrs. Eicher and her husband, Jacob, lived just a few houses/farms away from my family!! 

I reviewed the other documents I found in my ancestry search just to be sure that I had really found my teacher.  There were census records for other years, city directories for this couple and Lulu's obituary. 

The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) 8 Jun 1972. See (3) in Bibliography below for citation details.

After the review of the 1910 census, other records on Ancestry, and her obituary I am sure that I've found Aunt Mary's First Grade Teacher - Lulu (Petty) Eicher.

While living in Elm Grove Township in Tazewell County, Illinois, Aunt Mary and her siblings attended Elm Grove School.  It was just north of their family farm where they were living until about 1917.  After that the farm was sold and the Miars family moved to Peoria County.  It is possible that Mrs. Eicher also taught Aunt Mary's older siblings.  But it seems that she and Mrs. Eicher connected as she kept this picture for many decades.  Maybe it was a farewell present from Mrs. Eicher when the Miars children moved away from the Elm Grove school. I also wonder if Mrs. Eicher and Aunt Mary ever crossed paths again in later years or if Mrs. Eicher knew that one of her students had gone on to be a teacher too.

I do not know the whole story or the details of why Mrs. Eicher gave a picture to her student who then kept it for the rest of her life.  But how nice it is to find this now over 100 years since the photo was likely taken and what great details we now have about the lives of Aunt Mary and her siblings in Elm Grove.  These memories are truly priceless.


Related Blog Posts -
Mary (Miars) Best - Happy Birthday!

Bibliography -
(1)Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 October 2019), memorial page for Lulu A Peltey Eicher (13 Jun 1877–6 Jun 1972), Find A Grave memorial no. 76569860, cemetery marker in Mackinaw Township Cemetery, Mackinaw, Tazewell County, Illinois, USA; maintained by "Alvin Oglesby," contributor no. 47049777.
(2) 1910 U.S. census, Tazewell County, Illinois, population schedule, Elm Grove, Enumeration District (ED) 0134, sheet 13-B (penned), p. 61-B (stamped), line 60, dwelling 151, family 152, LuLu  A Eicher; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 Oct 2019), citing National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll T624_328,  FHL microfilm 1374341.
(3) "Mrs. Lulu Eicher," obituary, The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), 8 Jun 1972, p. D-10; digital image, Publisher Extra collection, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 22 Oct 2019).

Mary (Miars) Best (1906-1886) - Happy 113th Birthday!

My great aunt, Mary (Miars) Best is much loved and missed in our family.  She and her husband, Uncle Bob Best were additional grandparents to my mother and her sisters as well as to me and my siblings.

Her relationship to me is as follows:  me > my mom > Robert T Miars > Frank and Katie (Saltonstall) Miars.  Aunt Mary is the older sister of my grandfather and daughter of my great grandparents.

Mary Eva Miars was born on 23 Oct 1906 in Sugar Grove Township, Tazewell County, Illinois. (1)  She is the seventh child and fifth daughter of her parents, Frank and Katie (Saltonstall) Miars. (1)

There were to be nine children in the home after my grandfather was born in 1915.  No doubt there were many chores to do both inside and outside the home.  She lived until about the age of ten or eleven on the Miars homestead, started by her great grandparents, Martin and Ann (Hodgson) Miars, in Elm Grove Township, Tazewell County, Illinois.  Around 1916 or 1917 the Frank Miars family moved to their new home and farm in Jubilee, Peoria, Illinois.  Here she was to spend the rest of her school days.

She graduated from Brimfield (Illinois) High School in the mid 1920s.  Her wish was to be a school teacher.  She believed that education was the path to opportunities in life.  She graduated from Illinois State Normal University and began a career of teaching elementary students in small, rural public schools and beyond for the rest of her life. 

Aunt Mary is on the first row at the far right.

Aunt Mary married Robert "Bob" J Best on 29 May 1941 at the Union Church in Brimfield, Illinois. (1)  I found this newspaper clipping in her papers with a handwritten year of 1940. (2)  However, I do not think this was correct.  This couple was married the year after my grandparents who were married in 1940.  Uncle Bob's best man at his wedding was my great uncle, Frank Stenger (son of Joseph L and Lucy (Loescher) Stenger of Kickapoo.  The newspaper clipping also notes that Aunt Mary was a teacher "in the local school" which I believe was the Brimfield, Illinois grade school.

See (2) below for citation.

After their wedding Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob lived in the upstairs apartment of M.R. and Lorena (Reed) Clark in Brimfield.  It was a two story white house with a wrap around porch. I always thought this house was one of nicest in town.  They would make their residence there for about 20 years.**  In the early 1960s they bought their own home up the street (Galena Avenue) from the Clark house.  That would be their home for the rest of the married life.

She and Uncle Bob enjoyed spending time with their families, especially that of her youngest brother, Robert T Miars (my grandfather) who was raising his family in Brimfield during the 1940s and 1950s.  When my grandmother, Clementine (Stenger) Miars was in the hospital having babies, Aunt Mary would stay with her nieces during her time away.  When Robert and Clementine had a stillborn baby in May 1954, Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob were at the graveside service in Kickapoo in support of their family's loss.
.

By the time my siblings and I were old enough to interact with Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob they were starting to retire.  From time to time one or two of us at a time would be invited to stay visit and stay overnight at their house or go on some sort of outing with them.  They would take us out to Jubilee for picking hickory nuts and raspberries or a trip to the donut shop in Princeville.  I was spending the night at their house on Labor Day weekend in 1967 when my Grandpa Minor's business (Brimfield Motor Company) burned to the ground.  After hearing the sirens all night they explained to me what was going on.

Aunt Mary always had puzzles and school workbooks at her house. They were much more fun to do at her house than at school! There was always time for a game of cards (Rummy or King's Corner) it seemed.  One time visiting her I remember telling her how irritating my two younger brothers could be.  She said "Oh no.  You don't get to complain about them.  I had four brothers!"  I remember being very surprised about that and could not imagine what that must have been like.  Then she told me about her younger brother, Albert "Dutch" and how he used to "wonder off" on their walk to school sometimes.  That is really the only complaint I ever remember her making about her siblings.

She died on 14 May 1986 (3) and is buried in Brimfield Township Cemetery with Uncle Bob.
To me she was a wonderful aunt and great aunt who taught all of us so much about family and the importance of learning. I am so grateful to have known her and gotten the benefit of her wisdom and examples over the years.

Related Blog Posts -
Clara (Miars) Barker - 123rd Birthday

Bibliography -
(1) Mary (Miars) Best, "Frank Miars Family," handwritten report by Mary (Miars) Best, ca. 1970s; originally in the personal collection of the report's author, currently in the personal collection of the author of this blog post.
(2) Robert Best and Mary Miars wedding announcement, undated and unidentified newspaper clipping; privately held by Jana (Miars) Minor, Aurora, Illinois, 2017.  Newspaper is likely The Brimfield News.
(3) Peoria County, Illinois, death certificate no. 806  (14 May 1986), Mary E. Best, Peoria County Clerk.

**After Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob bought their home on Galena Avenue, my parents lived in the upstairs apartment at the Clark home.  This was my first home as well.

Clara (Miars) Barker - 123rd Birthday - October 12, 1896

My maternal grandfather's oldest sister is celebrating her 123rd birthday today!  Aunt Clara is remembered very fondly in our family for her many visits to her family home when her nieces and nephews were growing up.

Relationship to me: Clara is a brother of my grandfather, Robert T. Miars.

Clara Mable Miars was born on 12 Oct 1896 in Elm Grove Township, Tazewell County, Illinois.  She was the third child and oldest daughter of Frank and Katie (Saltonstall) Miars.  Her home for all of her growing up years was the Miars homestead and farm.  By the time Clara was born her grandparents and great grandparents had lived there for more than 70 years.  There were to be nine total children in her family so no doubt her days were filled with chores in and out of the house.

Miars Sisters about  mid 1920s

When she was about 21 years old, her family moved to Jubilee Township, Peoria County, Illinois.  Clara seems to have made the move also but during the 1920s she was to return to Pekin and Tazewell County to live and work off and on.

On 30 June 1927, in Pekin, Illinois, Clara married Virgil Barker.  They made their married home with her husband's parents at 707 Summer Street in Pekin.  This was to be their home for the rest of their lives.  They had no children.  Virgil worked for the Peoria, Pekin Union Railroad as an engineer.

Virgil and Clara (Miars) Barker  - ca. 1940s

Later on, around the 1940s, she started a catering business with her friend, Mary Lohnes.  This was to be a business partnership for over 20 years.  They catered countless weddings and parties of all kinds.  She also catered some events for Senator Everett Dirksen as well.

Aunt Clara would come to the Brimfield and Elmwood homes of her parents and siblings for visits a few times each year.  My mom recalls that each August at about the time that school was starting a package would arrive from her that contained school supplies for her and her sisters.

She was a tall woman her walked rather stately.  She had very beautiful white hair as I recall.  There was an air of regalness about her too.

She retired from her catering business around 1967 or 1968.  Her health started to give way in the early 1970s and she died on 28 July 1975.

I was 13 years old when she died and went to both the visitation/viewing and also to the funeral.  I remember there was a disagreement between her husband who wanted her to be buried with her wedding rings and her sisters wanted them removed before the burial and given to her nieces.  The rings went with her to the grave.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Clara!

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