What happened to Addie Spurgeon?

This is a Byfield descendant that I come back to now and then. 

Eighteen year old Hattie Imel, daughter of Julia Ann Byfield and Peche Harrison Imel, married Oscar C Spurgeon in Coffey County, Kansas. They had a daughter, Addie, in 1876. By 1878 Hattie and Oscar had divorced and Hattie had remarried.  

Four year old Addie is found in the 1880 census with her mother, Hattie, and her new step-father, George Gilbert Holmes.  That's the last record that I can find.

I'm sure Addie must have married in the 20 years before the next census in 1900 but, I have no clues to go on.  Do any of you Kansas Imels or maybe Holmeses have some information about Addie?

This is my entire listing for Addie:

15311. Addie Spurgeon. (Harriett B "Hattie" Imel-4; Julia Ann Byfield-3; Massia Byfield-2; Abraham H. Byfield-1)

Daughter of Oscar C Spurgeon and Harriett B "Hattie" Imel. Born about 1876 in Kansas. Died _____________ in _____________.

Benjamin Byfield

I'm just finishing up work on the descendants of Benjamin Byfield, son of Massia Byfield.  Benjamin was Massia and Polly's first child and is the only one that stayed in Indiana when the rest of the family moved to Illinois.

Benjamin's son, Sardius, married a second cousin so, there's a branch of Byfields that are related to Abraham Byfield and Patience Corbin through two different grandparents.

I'll upload a new version of the full book once I get the Benjamin Byfield line wrapped up.  I don't plan to update the book that includes only the Massia Byfield line until that line is complete.  I guess I'm going to have to find a better way to refer to which book contains the entire Byfield line and which is just a branch starting at one of Abraham's children.

Updated Version

I just uploaded the latest version of the book.  I added  a section explaining the Henry Numbering system.  The Massia Byfield portions are shaping up slowly.

Any descendants of Massia Byfield out there, sent me pictures!

Change of Plans

I've decided to finish work on the Massia Byfield branch of the Byfield family.  That way I can put up a book covering just the Massia branch that will be fairly complete.  I chose the Massia branch to complete first since that's my branch and I'm closest to having all the "skeleton" information for that branch already.

I will probably do the Horatio Byfield branch next.  I've got some good research on that branch and have received some great help from a couple of other researchers on the Horatio line.

I also have the George Washington Byfield line in pretty good shape but I need to correspond with a few others to fill in some blanks.

I want to stress that even when each branch is completed, that it will only be complete as far as I can fill in names, dates, and places.  I still want to add the stories and family traditions for as many people and families as possible.  I want to hear from anyone associated with the Byfield family!  What stories did your parents or grandparents tell?  Do you have old photographs that you can share?

Send me a note!  There is a place on the right hand side of this page where you can leave me a note or just e-mail me at byfieldbook@gmail.com.

Kate Byfield, Kate Polasky, Kate Woolen

Horatio Byfield of Lancaster Township, Jefferson County, Indiana, had a son named Alford.  Alford Byfield married Nancy Graham and they had a daughter named Hannah Janet Byfield.  This is recorded in Horatio's family bible.

Alford died young and his wife, Nancy, moved back with her parents for a while.  Nancy is listed with her parents in the 1850 census and her daughter, Hannah Janet, is listed with relatives adjacent.  By 1860, Nancy had  set up shop as a seamstress in Madison, Indiana.  Here is where her daughter, Hannah Janet Byfield, became Kate.  I don't know why.  Hannah was her maternal grandmother's name and her paternal grandmother was Jennet so the name Hannah Janet made sense.  Nevertheless, she is recorded as Kate in the 1860 census.

In 1867 Hannah Janet Byfield married John Polasky.  She is recorded as 'Kate' on the marriage record. Later in 1867 John Polasky died along with his business partner, Arthur Hurd.  The young widow, Hannah Janet, had a daughter named Mary Hurd Polasky.  However, in the 1870 census, Hannah Janet is recorded as Kate with a ditto mark indicating the name Kate for her 2 year old daughter.

So.  Kate, who is really Hannah Janet, has a daughter, who's name is Mary Hurd Polasky,  listed as Kate Polasky.

In 1872, Hannah Janet (Byfield) Polasky married the Indiana Attorney General, Thomas Woolen.  In the 1880 census, she is listed as Catherine Woolen and her daughter is listed as Herdie Polasky.  Mary Hurd (aka Kate) (aka Herdie) Polasky died young and is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, in Franklin, Indiana.  On the family headstone that she shares with her mother and step-father she is "Mary Hurd Polasky".

Hannah Janet's husband Thomas Woolen died in 1898.  In the 1900 census, Hannah Janet is listed as Kate Woolen and is with two of her daughters by Thomas Woolen, Ruby May Woolen and Kathryn Woolen who is listed as "Kate".  So here is another Kate!

In the censuses of 1910 and 1920, Hannah Janet (Byfield) Woolen is living with her daughter Kathryn who is married to James Dean.  In 1910 Hannah is listed as "Hannah J Woolen" and in 1920 as "Mrs. Kate Woolen".

Hannah Janet Byfield died in 1926 and is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery with her husband Thomas Woolen.  On the headstone she is recorded as "Hannah Janet Woolen".

Hannah Janet Byfield can be found as "Kate Byfield", "Kate Polasky", and "Kate Woolen".
Her daughter, Mary Hurd Polasky can be found as "Kate Polasky".
Her daughter, Kathryn Woolen can be found as "Kate Woolen".

Massia Byfield Line Complete Through Grandchildren

I've completed my initial work on the grandchildren of Massia Byfield.  My primary task was to check that all the grandchildren were listed correctly and their children were all listed.  There will be a lot of work to fill in the family stories, but I have to get the framework completed first.  This would be a good time for you descendants of Massia Byfield to contact me with family stories and photographs!

I'll be starting to work on the grandchildren of Stella Harriet Byfield next.  All you McGaughey cousins might want to take a look at the book as it now stands.  I know there were some McGaughey children that stayed in Indiana when the rest of the family moved to Minnesota.  I would love to know more about them.

Massia Byfield Line Working Copy

I'm working on the Massia Byfield branch of the tree right now and have uploaded a draft version of just this branch. It's still a couple of hundred pages. It's available to view or to download as a PDF file here. In addition I uploaded a copy of this to bookpatch. I did this so I could get a paper copy to make notes in as I work may way through the families. If anyone wants one of these, they are about 200 pages and spiral bound. Bookpatch charges about $20 to print and ship if you pick the slowest shipping speed. Here's the link:

Descendants of M ...

Paul Carpenter

$13.35

As always, comments are encouraged!

Looking for Byfield Genealogies

There are a few Byfield genealogies that I have found in various lists but have never had a chance to look at myself.  I am pretty sure the authors are no longer living but I would love to talk to their families about making copies of their work more widely available to researchers.  If I could get copies I would be happy to make them available as electronic documents (PDF files) and/or as reprints of the original work.

If anyone can help me with copies of these I would be very grateful.  I would be glad to cover expenses for copying, scanning, and such.  Send me a note!

The first book is called "Byfields" and was compiled by Hallie Opal Newberry Townley in 1989.  I know that the Llano County Library in Texas has a copy and that the Jennings County Library in Indiana has one.  Also there is supposed to be a copy at the Idaho State Historical Society.

Immogene Wilson put together several volumes of Byfield information.  The only place I see these volumes listed is at the Llano County Library in Texas.

Immogene Wilson also collaborated with Marineal Yarborough Nickolaus and Judy Wilson Miller on a 30 page work called "The Byfield ancestral tree, bough and branches" that I only find listed at the Idaho State Historical Society Archives.

I'm sure there must be other copies of these works but they aren't listed in the places I've looked.

If you know where to find copies of these works or can help me to get hold of them, please send me a note.  My e-mail is byfieldbook@gmail.com or you can use the links on the right side of the page to send me a message.

Correcting Corbin Byfield

I've been updating Corbin Byfield in my records.  I previously had him listed as Cornelius Corbin Byfield.  This is an example of how easy it is to pick up a wrong fact and just keep running with it.

Corbin was born 10 June 1832, the son of Horatio Byfield and Jennet Griffith.  His name comes from his paternal grandmother, Patience Corbin.

He is found in the 1850 census listed as Cornelius.  This was the first record I found for him so I made the assumption that Cornelius was his correct name and Corbin was either a middle name or nickname that he used as an adult.  Now I've seen the entries in Horatio's family bible (thanks Lynne) and I know that Corbin is correct and Cornelius is not.

In the 1870 census, Corbin is living with his brother, Horatio (Jr.), his sister Margaretta (widow of Green Malcolm) and her son Horatio Malcolm.  Also with this group is Levi Cornell.  Levi was an adopted son of Corbin's sister Emily Byfield and her husband William Conway.

Corbin was a bachelor his whole life as was his brother, Horatio.  Corbin stayed in Indiana while his brother, Horatio and his sister, Margaretta, and her son ended up in a mining town in Colorado.  His father's family bible gives Corbin's death date as 30 July 1893 but other documents give the date about a year later on 25 July 1894.

The Byfield Cemetery in Indiana

Byfield Cemetery 1988
Indiana Department of Natural Resources

I've been adding some information about the Byfield Cemetery to the book.  One of the people that I've corresponded with remembers going there as a child when the property was still in the Byfield family.  She had some good information about the original owner of the land and led me to the answers about a few non-Byfields buried in the cemetery.

The cemetery is located near Big Creek, north of the town of Lancaster, west of highway 7 in Jennings county.  If the fields are not too high the one remaining marker can probably be seen from the road.

It appears that this little family cemetery was established by Jesse Spann, a revolutionary war veteran, who purchased land around Big Creek from the government around 1816.  He later sold that land to Horatio Byfield.  The earliest burial recorded in the cemetery is for Jesse Spann's daughter, Elizabeth in 1825.  The first Byfield buried in the cemetery is Horatio's son Alford Byfield in 1846.

The WPA recorded 15 stones in the cemetery in the 1930s.  The state of Indiana did a historical survey in 1988 and found that a previous land owner had bull-dozed all but one large stone.  I've heard that in 2012 the stone was still standing.  It's sad that this is all that is left.

My Complete Ancestor Tree for Abraham Byfield

Here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByJh1OTqQtMVb2MwMFRxaFdJeUU/edit?usp=sharing

is a link to my full descendant tree for Abraham Byfield.  This document is about 65 pages and includes six generations of Byfields.  The document is a "PDF" file so anyone should be able to view it either online or by downloading it to your computer.

Clearly, there are still a lot of Byfields that are not listed.  If you can help fill in some missing information please send me a note.  I feel that I've found most of the people that are easy to trace.  Now I need some help from the family!

Back on Task

Well, I've been off on other projects for a while and now it's time to get back to work on the Byfield family.  I've got a lot of editorial changes to make to the book and then I will start filling in the remaining branches of the tree.  If you've looked at the book and have information to add, please send me a note!  I'm also very interested in getting permission to use photos of the various individuals or families.

I've corresponded with a few relatives that have given me great information.  I'm hoping to start some new conversations in the next few weeks.  I would love to be able to add family stories to flesh out the descriptions.

The Saga of Nancy Graham Byfield and Kate Byfield Polasky Woolen

There are some interesting Byfields that were in the river town of Madison during the mid-1800s.  Nancy Graham Byfield, the widow of Alford Byfield, lived in Madison with her daughter Catherine "Kate" Byfield.  Nancy's husband, Alford, son of Horatio Byfield, died young leaving his widow with a young daughter. 

In the 1850 census it appears that Nancy is living back with the Grahams but no daughter is listed with her.  There is a young Hannah J Byfield adjacent to the Grahams living with a Guthrie family.  Hannah is the right age to be Nancy's daughter. 

In the 1860 census, Catherine is with her mother, Nancy, in Madison.  Nancy is a dressmaker and has several young girls living with her and working as seamstresses.  By the 1870 census, Catherine has been married to John Polasky, widowed a few months after marriage, and is back with her mother in Madison.  With Catherine is her young daughter Kate Polasky.

Nancy's daughter Catherine (Hannah J?) eventually married Judge Thomas Woolen.  The youngest daughter of Catherine Byfield and Thomas Woolen, Kathryn, in her DAR application, lists her mother as "Hannah Janet Byfield".  Also, when Catherine is widowed and living with her youngest daughter, she is recorded as "Hannah"  So, it appears that Catherine "Kate" Byfield, daughter of Nancy Graham and Alford Byfield, is the same person as Hannah Janet Byfield.  Maybe.