My side of the family tree and that of my first and second cousins, is through the daughter of Sarah Jane and Joseph Withrow.
Their daughter, Ginevra, was their second born, first married, and last to pass away. Ginevra was born in Butler county, Ohio, on March 5, 1855. She moved with her parents to Iowa in 1866. (I learned this date from her father's obituary. Before I just knew it was between 1860 and 1868 based on census reports and the birth of her sister, Viola Emma.) Clues, Clues, Clues. See why this genealogy "stuff" is such fun, but I digress.
Ginevra married John Mac Vorhies May 27, 1875 in the Jasper county area. They moved with Ginevra's parents and siblings to Greene County in 1876. They had three children as I have mentioned before. Estella Mae born March 21, 1876; Eugene on October 8, 1877, and Leroy on October 2, 1879. In time I might tell some of what I know about these offshoot branches but for now I am working on direct line descendants and ancestors.
I want to share a family portrait that I think is priceless. The copy is not the greatest on this blog. Also, I made the photo large enough to get some idea of faces so the photo extend over the edge of the writing field. Just another one of those technology tricks I have yet to learn. Although, I admit I have seen this on many other blogs.
So, who are these people and why do we care?
Our existence is a result of them. Let's honor them with just a little of our time and attention.
Seated in the center of the portrait is Sarah Jane Swartzel Withrow, who started this family along with her husband, of course. She is about 79 here. Seated to her left is a large woman in a white blouse with a black neck bow. This is Grandma Ginevra, her daughter. Her approximate age is 58. Her husband, John Mac is behind her to one side and their oldest child, Estella, is on John Mac's right. I guess their ages to be about 63 and 37 respectively. To Estella's right is her husband, Hiram Smith approximately 46 years old, and their four children who are circled around Grandma Sarah Jane Withrow. The oldest is Nina about age 11, then Merroll about age, 10. The little one to Sarah Jane's left is Neva about age 3 and to her right little Ardea about 2.
The families of Eugene are seated to the right of Grandma Withrow and Leroy's family is to the left. I know the identity of all in the photo except for the older couple next to Eugene. (If anyone would like me to expand on these family, I will be glad to share what I know. Let me know.)
I do not know the exact date of this photo but Viola, baby of Carrie and Eugene, was born in 1912. I am guessing ages based on this.
My first cousins and I branch from Nina. My second cousins branch from Ardea and Merroll. Great Aunt Neva never had children. After this family photo was taken three more children were born to Estella and Hiram. I do not believe there are any descendants from these children.
Unlike five of the seven children born to Sarah and Joseph, two of their daughters lived long lives. Anna Josephine and Ginevra both lived into their 60's. They married, raised families, and shared the care of their aged mother, Sarah. I have read in some of the Jefferson historical papers about visits Sarah made to her granddaughters in Jefferson. These are strangers to me. The mother of those granddaughters was Anna Josephine.
Anna Josephine married Willam Cromwell and raised seven children just like her parents. I have not done much research on this branch of the family. In time, I will turn my attention to this branch if one of my third or fourth cousins or anyone else is interested.
What I have discovered is that the youngest daughter of Anna and William was born in 1899 and was named Beatrice Ruth. She married Norval Pound and they had three children.
Alan (1917)
Victor (1921)
Mignon (1922)
Oh, have my third and fourth cousins perked up their ears?
When I was a kid, one of my best friends was Margo Pound. We knew we were distantly related but no one seemed to know exactly how. Now I know! Sarah Jane is her 2nd great grandmother and my 3rd great grandmother. We share a common ancestor. We are third cousins once removed. I am one generation farther removed from our common ancestors, Sarah and Joseph Withrow.
Everyone with me? What is this illusive once removed term? We are not of the same generation. How can this be? We are only one month apart in age. Let me explain.
Anna's daughter, Beatrice, was the youngest of Anna's children. While the daughter of her sister, Ginevra, was the oldest of Ginevra's children. Ginevra's daughter, Estella, and Beatrice, first cousin to Estella, were almost 20 years apart in age. Already the generations are off.
I tried explaining descendants in paragraph form but it became a little confusing. So, here is a chart which might help.
Sarah( mother)
Anna Josephine (sisters) Ginevra
Beatrice (first cousins) Estella
Alan/Victor (second cousins) Nina&siblings
Jane/Margo/Vic/etc. (3rd cousins) Mary&siblings
Michelle, Mike, Todd, Jane's girls (4th) Margie
Because I am one more generation removed from Sarah Jane, I am a third cousin once removed of my friend, Margo, her siblings, and her first cousins.
Here is my paragraph. You might want to skip it or muddle through to see if your head spins or you might find it clarifying.
Beatrice and Estella were the grandchildren of Sarah Jane and Joseph. They were first cousins. Beatrice's children and Estella's children were great-grandchildren to Sarah Jane and Joseph. So, Sarah was great grandmother to Alan Pound, Victor Pound, my grandmother Nina Smith Grisso, and many others. Alan and Victor were second cousins to my grandmother, Nina, and her siblings. The children of Alan and his brother, Victor, are third cousins to Nina's children one of whom is my mother, Mary. The generations are not aligned. So this is where the once, twice, etc. times removed comes in. Margo is my mother's third cousin and my third cousin once removed. Her children are my fourth cousins. (Got that Michelle, Mike, and Todd)
So, there you have it. My third and fourth cousins share a common ancestor with me. We have all descended from Sarah Jane Swartzel Withrow and her husband, Joseph.
My first and second cousins branch off with Ginevra and John Mac Vorhies. There is much more to come with them.
Sarah Jane Swartzel Withrow
1834-1922
This is the story as I know it of my 3rd great grandmother, Sarah Jane Swartzel Withrow. If you are descended from one of my mom's siblings, one of Grandma Nina's siblings, one of Great Grandma Smith's siblings or her mother, Ginevra's siblings, Sarah Jane is our common grandparent. You are my first, second, third, or fourth cousin. I actually know who a couple of these fourth cousins are. Imagine their surprise when they discover this.
Sarah Jane Swartzel was born in Montgomery County, Ohio in 1834 and is buried in the Scranton Township cemetery near Scranton, Iowa. Many, many of her descendants are buried there as well. The vague idea of an ancestor becomes real when I can actually take flowers to her grave. And I want her story to be told.
In 1853, at age 19, Sarah Jane married Joseph Withrow in Ohio. They had a total of seven children. Only three of these children had families of their own. Obviously, I am descended from one of these three.
The first four of their children were born in Ohio. Mary Kate (1854), Ginevra (1855), Anna Josephine (1857), Aurilla Rosella (1859) moved with their parents to Indiana and then on to Jasper County, Iowa sometime between 1860 and 1868. We know this because the 1860 census locates the family in Ohio. In 1868, Viola Emma was born in Jasper County, Iowa. Followed by Joseph A. Jr. in 1874. By 1879, the family was living in Greene County, Iowa where Sarah Jane ( named after her mom I assume) was born on 26 August 1879.
Grandma Sarah outlived not only her husband but also 6 of her 7 children. Her one remaining child (age 67) died only a few months after Sarah Jane. In my opinion, Grandma Sarah Jane Swartzel Withrow had a lot of sorrow in her 88 years.
