ORPHANED

 

         Orphaned children have been around since the beginning of time.  Scripture tells us how dear they are to God when you read the verses regarding the command to make provisions for widows and orphans.  Psalm 68:5 tells us, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”  In biblical times, since women rarely earned any money of their own, a child was considered an orphan if the father and wage earner died.  In my own family I have found that when a mother of an infant or young child died, often the father would find someone else to rear that child, presumably so he could continue to work and care for the other children.  Here are a few orphans from some of my family trees – some lost their mother, some lost their father. 

 

ETTA MAUDE SIEBERT CHURCHWELL

Etta Siebert's mother died of pneumonia when Etta was 9 months old, so her maternal grandmother took her to rear. Her grandmother died when Etta was 9 years old. The family gathered once again to decide who was going to take Etta. It was decided her mother's sister, Mae would be the one because she had lost a daughter and had a living daughter who could be reared with Etta. Etta stayed with "Grandma Dragoo" until she married my uncle Frank CHURCHWELL. When Frank joined the Navy SeaBees during W.W. II, Etta moved with her children from Colorado to California. Her foster sister/cousin and two daughters always made it quite clear to Etta's children that they had no real claims on their family, or any of the rights that they had.  Etta's oldest daughter Marietta always felt cheated out of her family, and she always knew that she had a very big family in Colorado.

VIOLA GRISWOLD CHURCHWELL

Viola's mother's name was Addie C. PANGBORN; she married (1)-Daniel WYMAN. They had 4 boys & 1 girl: Leon (1897-1905), Ray (1899-1983), William (1902-1956), Earl (1904-1936) & Mabel (1906-1947). Daniel WYMAN died, leaving Addie to raise their 5 children.  (Their son William married Gladys NUTTLEMAN.)    

Viola's mother Addie then married (2)-Edwin GRISWOLD. This was also GRISWOLD's 2nd marriage; his first wife Alida died, leaving Edwin to raise their 3 children, Jessie, Harry & Edmond. 

         Viola was born to Edwin and Addie GRISWOLD, but her mother died when Viola was 9 weeks old; "Daddy GRISWOLD's" daughter Jesse was  married to Harry SLUSSER. Jesse & Harry agreed to rear Viola.  Their children were Frank, Grace & Earl.  Daddy GRISWOLD came to live with them, too.  Harry didn't like having his father-in-law living with them. 

     After my dad died, my mom was contacted by her high school sweetheart, Harold NUTTLEMAN whose sister was Gladys NUTTLEMAN WYMAN.  He had heard about my dad passing through the WYMAN/NUTTLEMAN/CHURCHWELL family grapevine.

     At Uncle Richard CHURCHWELL's funeral I met three children of Frank SLUSSER: Rita Simonoff, Laetitia and Fran; I also met three children of Edmond GRISWOLD: Harry, Viola Danner, and Rob.

 

VANHOOSER

         Elizabeth Cantrell Vanhooser died after the birth of her 5th child, in 1858, at the age of 29.  According to her husband James Webb Vanhooser’s Civil War Pension record, Elizabeth died May 20; her newborn son, James Pinkney was just 18 days old.  According to James Pinkney’s death certificate his mother’s name was Elizabeth, not Melissa Ann as family lore recorded it.  At the time of her death, her other children were ages 9, 7, 5 and 2.  James remarried in December of 1858, to Mary WRIGHT, my 2x great-grandmother.  I am descended from their oldest child Clayborn Samson VANHOOSER 1859-1899), the father of my grandmother Helen.

 

James Webb VANHOOSER

 

HELEN ESTHER VANHOOSER

         My grandma Helen Esther VANHOOSER LAREW was 5 years old when her dad died of pneumonia and was already married and a mother of 4 when her mother, Orlena America STOCKTON VANHOOSER, remarried in 1926.  I've wondered how Orlena and the children survived all those years without their husband and father.  

        A few months ago, I found my dad's cousin, Helen Mae VANHOOSER LAKE on Facebook and friended her.  She just recently passed away at 97 years old.  Through email, she shared some of her memories, one pertains to how this family of a widow woman and her six children under 10 years old survived: 

                    I will tell about what l know of Orlena Stockton. My Dad was a good story teller. I was always a good listener so l know some. I know she was first married to a man thru called Doc. I have heard his last name but dont recall it.  She also had a baby by him name of Perry.  I dont know what they died of. My Dad didnt know either. 
                    Then she married Clayborn Sampson VanHooser.and had 6 children, the oldest Ethel, married Dave Hall, they had 8 children. 2nd Harry died at age 17 of typhoid fever. 3rd Helen married Jim Larew. They had 4 children.  4th Hugh married Rose Brown, they had 3 children. 5th Golden Martha, married Hobart Larew, brother to Jim Larew. They had 5 children. 6th Ralph Clayborn, married.  Mary Adah Parks, they had 7 children.
                    When Ralph was 9 months old his father died with double pneumonia.That left Orlena with 6 children the oldest one was 10. She traded 40 acres of her farm for 17 acres in Dadeville. It had fruit trees on it she canned fruit and sold pies, cakes, etc. She was a good cook. Harry and Ethel would deliver and get orders. When Harry became 14 he wanted to move back to the farm. Ethel was going to the academy, which was like high school later, but you had to pay to send your child there. So Orlena did alright. They moved back to the farm. Harry and Hugh and Orlena worked the farm. The girls was old enough to help keep the house and garden. Grandma worked with the girls and the boys.                                 Everything was going good and when Harry was 17 he got typhoid fever, she had 3 doctors working on him but they couldnt save him.  Orlena was left with one 14 year old and one 10 year old boys to work the farm. They made it they had a start of cattle.  Dad said, one of the old timers , told him, "that woman made a better living than half of the men in the county." 

            

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