Elizabeth Chapman Cowles
 |
| Elizabeth Chapman Cowles |
In my previous post, I mentioned that I "discovered" some pictures I had taken of other pictures during the memorial of my late grandmother that I hadn't really processed in the two years since I had snapped them. I also mentioned my quest to locate a picture for all my 3rd great grandparents of which I had found 21 of them counting the recently discovered photo of my 3rd great grandfather Joseph Trimble Cowles. Well that count is now 22 with the introduction of my 3rd great grandmother Elizabeth Chapman Cowles above. Only 10 more to go!
I will be honest and that I don't know for 100% certainty that this is my 3rd great grandmother Elizabeth. But underneath it in the same handwriting that identified the picture in the previous post as Grandpa Joseph Cowles, this one simple said Grandma. They were also in the same photo album.
Elizabeth C Chapman Cowles was born to John and Jane Barr Chapman in 1833 in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. I have been unable, thus far, to find much information about this family due to the timing of their move to Iowa sometime between 1840 and 1850 and lack of digitized newspapers of their location at that time. Hopefully that will change someday in the near future.
As I mentioned in the previous post about her husband, she would have four children, three of which lived past their childhood. Up until I wrote the last post, I knew she died on 30 Jan 1883 due to cemetery records but a new search for digitized newspaper records located a newspaper in the county seat of Wapello, Iowa had been digitized since the last time I had looked. I did a cursory search and immediately found a death notice for her in it.
Abdominal dropsy is a fluid build up in the abdominal cavity that can be caused by several things according to Google. Unfortunately, due to the style of the time and the fact that she was a female, the newspapers were very skimpy on information of her past. It is rare that I even see mention of her maiden name. More searches in the following day found a few more articles, mostly about awards she won for her yeast bread during multiple county fairs and of a melon she gifted the newspaper staff.
Fascinating Ed.
ReplyDeleteGoing through my parents' safe last weekend, I suddenly found a note that one of the pocket watches there had belonged to my great-grandfather (my father's mother's side). See that simple notation suddenly made me a great deal more interested in who he was. I may have even seen a picture of him before; now I need to check.
I have three or four pocket watches belonging to great and great great grandparents. None of them work anymore which is a shame. I wish it were practical to get them working again and actually used instead of just being the display pieces they are now.
DeleteMorning Sun is a nice name. You are making great progress.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought it was a nice name.
DeleteInteresting photo...usually hands were not shown. I think she was a woman who knew her mind and did what she wanted! She looks very sure of herself.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that too. I can't recall another old photo where someone's hands are up near their face. At best they are on a nearby chair back or along their sides.
DeleteI think Morning Sun is a great name for a town!
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, I don't even know why it was named that. Another research project.
DeleteI did look it up and it said dropsy was edema. To die at 50, I would suspect some kind of cancer.
ReplyDeleteThat was my suspicion too but I kept wondering if that was just a modern mindset thinking since back then, something more treatable in today's world might have been causing the fluid buildup.
DeleteMorning Sun, Iowa. It does sound delightful. It feels like it has been a minute since you had done some family history but I am glad to read all about it.
ReplyDeleteIt is a cold weather sport for me!
DeleteI am so very impressed with all you are learning and know of your ancestors. I know a lot more of my mother's side because they were of the priest class who kept a lot of records. My father's side had a reunion after 40 years last month and remarks were made that very, very little was known about that side of the family. In fact, I probably had more information just because my grandmother lived with us a lot and I had been taking an anthropology class in college and was studying genealogy at the time. I was able to ask her for some family information. Anyway, by that time, my grandmother was much older and had forgotten a lot. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteI have read about the records kept by the Japanese priest class that can go back 1000's of years! Unfortunately, despite all my hard work, most of my lines end in the early 1800's with census records. Many go back further but without any proof other than the same surname and/or proximity but I put little faith is those without evidence to support them. I have found too many mistakes over the years to trust other people's wishful thinking.
Delete