Children of Abel & Sarah Giles Woodin

The 1900 Bureau County, Illinois, US Federal census ED 14, sheet 11, Dwelling 202, Family 219, for Sarah Giles Woodin Raisbeck reads that she had 13 children with 7 living. The following is my account of the seven living children. Please share your research!

Martin Luther Woodin was born 8 August 1873, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. On 22 December 1897 in Seneca, LaSalle County, Illinois, he married Eugenie Luella Couch 1878-1959, my great-aunt. Martin Luther died 7 September 1931 in Marseilles, LaSalle County, Illinois.

Wilma Irene Woodin, "Billie" Thank you for sharing your family

One of their children was Wilma Irene Woodin, 1922-2016. Thank you to Wilma Woodin Morey’s family for all these beautiful photos. Wilma was my 1^st cousin 1x removed.

Walter Abel Woodin was born October 1869 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. According to Wilma’s notes, I read “Left home at an early age. Last known to be in eastern U.S.”  Using computer and digital records, I have possibly found two wives for Walter Abel. At this time, May 2020, I find no children. An estimated death date is between 1940 and 1957 in Maryland. Again, I am unable to find any death notices. See my online trees at Ancestry.com or MyHeritage.com for more details.

Mary Ellen Woodin was born 4 December 1865 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. The family came to American in 1880. Mary Ellen married first Charles William Van Tassell, 1855-1905, on 28 November 1884 in LaSalle County, Illinois. According to Wilma's notes, “Mary Ellen & Charles homesteaded in North Dakota Lived in Sod hut (Soddie) first few years. He died after just a few years.”

Mary Ellen married second to William Hopton, 1868-1956, exact date unknown, the year was 1907 in North Dakota. Wilma writes, “A widower with several children she helped raise.” According to the 1910 Burleigh County, North Dakota, US Federal census, ED 25, sheet 15B, Dwelling 307, family 307, Mary Ellen had no children. According to the 1920 census, the family had moved back to Marseilles, LaSalle County, Illinois. Mary Ellen died in Marseilles on 24 September 1942. William Hopton continued to live in Marseilles near the Woodin family until his death.

Ann Woodin was born April 1862 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. She came to America about 1880? Ann was married to George Edwin Stoney on 3 July 1883 in LaSalle County, Illinois. Hopefully records of this marriage will be found in the LaSalle County court house. When did George travel to America? When did the family and their three children return to England? A son was born in England in 1895. The family is enumerated in the 1901 and 1911 census in England. Ann died in Lincolnshire, England, in 1912. A death certificate for her would be helpful.

Mary Alice Woodin was born 26 October in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. In January 1881, Mary Alice married Ruben James Haynes, 1857-1927, in Bromsgrove. The family of six came to America about 1889 or 1890. The last child was born in LaSalle County, Illinois. Mary Alice died in Marseilles, LaSalle County on 10 March 1926.

Woodin, Hopton & Haynes family lived in Marseilles, LaSalle Co., IL

Jane Woodin was born January 1855 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. Jane married Emanuel James, 1852-1913, in Yorkshire, England on 12 December 1881. Jane died January 1918 in Derby, Derbyshire, England. The exact dates for birth and death need to be verified.

Eliza Woodin was born October 1851 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. This information is from the 1861, 1871 England census and the Civil Registration Birth Index. This is about as much as I know in records for her. BUT, here is the conflict. I can produce index records from Ancestry that offer a suggestion that her husband was Harry Barley. These are indexes only, not the actual records. Most of the trees offer someone else. If I follow the records for this other name, I have no connection to the middle name given to her. Also, some of the records offer a surname of Wooding or even a father, Joseph Wooding. I am able to find both Abel Woodin and Joseph Wooding in the same early England census records. From my research, I believe these are two separate families. Please offer records, beyond indexes or indexing of records to help verify this family. THANK YOU!!!

Harriet Newell Dickson or Dixon 1814-1894 one lady with an remarkable family

Harriet Newell Dickson or Dixon 1814-1894, which is correct? Both! Death date on Find a Grave proclaims 20 May 1895. Death date in her will reads 25 May 1894. Is this one lady or two? One! Start with the obvious, ha, ha. Harriet married John Sindel or Sindle in 1830 or 1831. Everything has to be placed in history. Many people including census enumerators were poor spellers. Many people had accents and English was not their first language. How does the researcher make any judgment calls?

For every event, date, location, and relationship, ask, “How do I know that…?” Keep looking; try not to use one source only! New information comes to light daily both digitally and in paper boxes! Patti Lee Hobbs in an APG webinar “Better Together: Making Your Case with Documents and DNA” expects the researcher will do an exhaustive research of common records. These records include probate, land, vital, court and tax. The webinar was held in April 2018 and may be viewed at Legacy Family Tree webinars.

Different documents carry different weight. My example, Harriet’s digitized probate of her will carries more weight than a 1906 book which may have an error from the information gathering to the author to the typeset. Yet, a printed book from 1906 is better than an abstract of the chapter from that book. The will was transcribed into the Ohio probate court book. Hopefully the transcription is correct. This is not the will written in Harriet’s own hand. The historian would expect the date to be correct, at least the year. So a check of the records before and after read 1894.

Remember, no one sets out to purposely make errors whether in a family tree or a legal document! It is up to the family historian to gather all the past information and present a logical conclusion based on the evidence for that event in that date and time. As new information becomes available, the conclusion may change or be stronger.

Harriet’s page on Find a Grave provides an obituary and the mention of a book by Estill Sindel. As of the writing of this blog, I was not able to locate either. What information do I have? See Roots Digger tree on Ancestry. Where did I find it and my personal conclusions?

My choice for surname is Dickson. Both Dixon and Dickson are used interchangeably. The reasons I chose Dickson over Dixon for this article include the Ohio marriage registry, and in mother’s will, James Dickson was a witness. The 1870 LaSalle County, Illinois, census uses Dickson. Many other census and books list Dixon as his given name. As a researcher, we find many variations of surname spellings.  James Dickson witnessed Harriet’s will. Question, what is the relationship between James and Harriet? How is Dickson or Dixon’s name recorded in the LaSalle County, Illinois, land records? This question means that I may want to plan a road trip to LaSalle County, Illinois, to search for land records.

Will Records, 1853-1899; General Index, 1853-1972; Probate Place: Fulton, Ohio. Ancestry.com.

Death date of 25 May 1894 was chosen because of the probated will. Please look at my Roots Digger tree on Ancestry. Will Records, 1853-1899; General Index, 1853-1972; Probate Place: Fulton, Ohio. Ancestry.com. Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Ohio County, District and Probate Courts.

Recommended books on this Sindel family:

Google books: Hoffman, U. J. History of LaSalle County, Illinois: Together With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Prominent and Leading Citizens and Illustrious Dead. Chicago: the S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1906.  accessed 18 April 2018 https://play.google.com.

Mikesell, Thomas, ed. County of Fulton: A History of Fulton County, Ohio, from the Earliest Days, with Special Chapters on Various Subjects, Including Each of the Different Townships; Also a Biographical Department. Madison, Wisconsin: Northwestern Historical Association. 1905.accessed 17 April 2018 on archive.org.

My connection to Harriet Nowell Dickson Sindel, she is the mother-in-law of the first cousin of the husband of my second great-aunt. Yes, I enjoy the hunt. More directly my relationship,

Mary Jane ARMSTRONG (1864 - 1906)
2nd great-aunt

Mary Jane BAKER (1841 - 1875)
mother of Mary Jane ARMSTRONG

Laura Eleanor ARMSTRONG (1856 - 1931)
daughter of Mary Jane BAKER

Nettie Ethel COUCH (1884 - 1965)
daughter of Laura Eleanor ARMSTRONG

Mildred Louise SCHULER (1919 - 2008)
daughter of Nettie Ethel COUCH

Selma Ethel KAMPE
You are the daughter of Mildred Louise SCHULER

As a researcher, always ask yourself, how do I know that? Where did the information come from? Please share your information and conclusions. Thank you!

Happy tree climbing and roots digging! Selma