Wedding Wednesday: John Newton Garriott & Jane Alen Reed, 1827

My cousin, Jennifer, over at Climbing My Family Tree sent this to me a few months ago. It's the 1827 marriage record for our 4th great grandparents, John Newton Garriott & Jane Alen Reed. They were married in Clark County, Indiana, on April 7, 1827. John was 20 years old, and Jane was 21.

The second page is pretty hard to make out, so here's what it says:

I hereby certify that the within named couple were joined together in marriage by me this 7th day of April 1827. Given under my hand + seal this 22nd day of May 1827. Thomas Allen.

John, Jane and their family moved to Keokuk County, Iowa, sometime between 1840 and 1850, where John was listed as a blacksmith in the 1850 US census, and a miller in the 1860 census. Sometime between 1860 and 1870, they moved to Mercer County, Missouri, where John was a merchant.

They had five children, including my 3rd great grandmother, Nancy Garriott Brittain. Jane died in Mercer County, Missouri, on July 31, 1874. John died there on January 15, 1882.

Mappy Monday: Milton Price Brittain in 1874, Keokuk County, Iowa

One of these days I'm going to win the lottery, buy an Airstream trailer and a sweet ride with which to tow it, and then take off on a grand tour of all of the places where my ancestors settled and lived. That's my dream, anyway! Until then, I'm on the hunt for historical maps that show exactly where my ancestors resided during their lives. Since a lot of my ancestors were farmers and land owners, I've been able to dig up some amazing plat maps that detail exact location of my ancestors' land, by name, and even how much land they owned.

What are plat maps? Creating plat maps was an important step in the process incorporating towns and cities according to US law. Plat maps are drawn to scale, showing the divisions of land, road designations and other zoning concerns. Historical land maps can be gold for a genealogist because they often name the owners of the parcels of land that have been designated on the map. You can find these maps in many places on the Internet, but a great place to start is the Bureau of Land Management web site.

Here's an 1874 plat map from Steady Run Township in Keokuk County, Iowa, that shows the land that was owned by my GGG grandfather, Milton Price Brittain. This was before he and his family headed south to Indian Territory, most likely around the time of the Oklahoma land grabs of the 1890s.

Keokuk County Atlas, 1874. M. P. Brittain is about 2/3 down the map, along the left border.
You can click on the map to view a larger version and zoom in.

Here's a close up shot of Milton Price Brittain's land. You can see from the map that he owned 380 acres and was surrounded by much smaller farms. It looks like my GGG grandfather and his family were doing pretty well during that time of his life.

As I look at the census documents from around that time, I can also see some of the same names there that I find on this plat map. You can often find other members of the same family nearby on plat maps, as well as names of family that show up in your ancestors' various documents, such as family histories, wills, marriage records, etc.

I'm still on the hunt for more plat maps as I continue my family history journey because the maps help to tell the grand stories of my ancestors. I'll be sure to share with you what I find!

UPDATE!
I just found a United States Land Record from 1849 that shows Milton Price Brittain buying 40 acres of the parcel of land that is shown in the above map. Here's the record. What a great find!!

Wedding Wednesday: Milton Price Brittain & Nancy Garriott

Nancy and Milton Brittain

Milton Price Brittain and Nancy Garriott were my paternal GGG grandparents. Milton (b.  6/20/1822 in Rockcastle, Barren Co., KY; d. 2/19/1898 in Payne Co., OK) and Nancy Garriott (b. 11/10/1828 in Clark Co., IN; d. 7/2/1912 in Kirbyville, Taney Co., MO) were married on January 25, 1843, in Henry County, Iowa. He was 20 years old, and she was just 14 years old.

Below is a copy of their marriage record in the Henry County Iowa Recorder - Marriage Book A (pages 73 & 74). As you can see, Milton's sister, Marina, was married on the same day to her husband, John Hooker. Thank goodness for that, because both records together were instrumental in helping me to prove Milton's connection to his father, Parks Brittain, in my D.A.R. application.

Milton and Nancy had 11 children, and at least two of them died as toddlers. Milton was a farmer and a baptist minister before they moved their large family to Indian Territory, likely around the time of the Oklahoma Land Rushes of the 1890s. 

I know, it's really hard to decipher, even at the original size. Took me awhile to transcribe, but here's what is written in the document for both marriages:

1843, January 25/182

Milton Brittain & Nancy Garrett

Consent of father of Brittain given in writing, proved by oath of John Garrett. Consent of father of Lady given in person.

Territory of Iowa, Henry County Set -- I hereby certify that on the 25th day of January 1843 at the house of John Garrett of said county I solemnized the rites of matrimony between Mr. Milton Britton, aged 20 years, and Miss Nancy Garrett, aged 14 years, both of said county of Henry. Given under my hand date above.

Wm. Thrash, JP

Recorded 2nd February 1843

E. Killpatrick, clerk

1843, January 25/183

John Hooker & Marina Brittain

Consent of John Garrett given in person for John Hooker. Consent of Parks Brittain, father of Lady, given by certificate, proved by oath of Milton Brittain.

Territory of Iowa, Henry County Set -- I hereby certify that on the 25th day of January 1843 at the house of Parks Brittain of said county I solemnized the rites of matrimony between Mr. John Hooker, aged 19 years, and Miss Marina Britton, aged 17 years, both of said county of Henry. Given under my hand date above.

Wm. Thrash, JP

Recorded 2nd February 1843

E. Killpatrick, clerk

Sunday Obituary: Nancy Catherine Campbell Halstead: 1856-1940

It's Sunday, and I'm currently watching the Chicago Bears pummel the Seattle Seahawks in a very snowy playoff game. Well, it's not really even a game at this point, so I though I'd share some more family history!

Nancy, left, with daughter, Jessie, and grandchildren

Today's Sunday Obituary is dedicated to my great great grandmother, Nancy Catherine Campbell Halstead. Nancy was born on November 13, 1856, in Palo Alto County, Iowa. She married William Leroy Halstead in Missouri in 1880, and they raised eight kids. She passed away on March 14, 1940, in Cushing, Oklahoma.

One of the things I love about these old obituaries is that they often tell us more about the lives of our ancestors than, perhaps, we would find out from our living relatives who actually knew them. I knew Nancy's daughter (my great grandmother, Jessie Luetta Halstead), and I know her grandson (my grandfather, Woodie Brittain), but I don't recall either of them ever telling me much about their own ancestors. In the case of Nancy, I had no idea that her family were some of the earliest Oklahoma pioneers.

I have a poor copy of this obituary from my Grandma Edith's records, but it doesn't list the newspaper in which it appeared, so here's the text as well as some photos that have been passed to me from other cousins I've met online:

Nancy with her husband, William Leroy Halstead

March 14, 1940 
Cushing, Oklahoma

Pioneer Cushing Woman Dies Today

Mrs. Nancy C. Halstead, age 83, died at 2:20 o'clock this morning at her home southeast of Cushing. She was a pioneer of Oklahoma, coming to Lincoln County in 1893 where she and her husband homesteaded the Skinner place five miles south of Cushing, later moving to their present location where they have lived the past 30 years. She became a member of the Methodist church several years ago.

Funeral services are to be held tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock in the home, with Rev. Golden Shook, pastor of the Methodist church
in charge. Burial will be in the Avery

Avery Cemetery, Avery, Lincoln County, Oklahoma

cemetery under direction of the Garrison Mortuary.

Surviving relatives include her husband, William Leroy Halstead of the home; four daughters, Mrs. Mary Thompson of Cushing, Mrs. Gertie Bradshaw of Lebanon, Missouri, Mrs. Jessie Brittain of Avery and Miss Myrtle Halstead of Avery; four sons, C.D. Halstead of Oklahoma City, Charley Halstead of Beaumont, Kansas, J.R. Halstead and L.E. Halstead of Avery; two sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth Folley of West Bend, Iowa and Mrs. Ida Elkins of Jefferson, Iowa; thirty grandchildren and forty-two great-grandchildren.