1830 Preble County, OH Census/Henry White

1830 Preble County, Ohio Census, Lanier Township

In the highlighted area of the census shown above, ancestor Henry White appears first. Next is John White, who married Rebecca Fisher in Shenandoah County, Virginia on 30 March 1811. Finally, there's Joseph Stover, son of Esther Gochenour and David Stover, who moved from Shenandoah County, Virginia to Preble County, Ohio.

Why are any of these people important to the descendants of Henry White?

 The answer is found on page 596 of a book by W. D. Huddle titled (take a deep breath) :
History of the descendants of John Hottell : (immigrant from Switzerland to America) and an authentic genealogical family register of ten generations from the first of the name in America, 1732, to the present time, 1929, with numerous brief biographical sketches, collected and compiled from many indisputable sources : court and church records, old and late family records and tombstones of the many states in the Union (Strasburg, Va.: Shenandoah Pub., 1930).

The Hottel book by W. D. Huddle

The last paragraph on this page tells us that Rebecca Fisher married John White. This marriage is verified by Shenandoah County, Virginia records. They moved to Preble County, Ohio, according to their descendants' family history records. The last paragraph of this book also shows: 

1). Rebecca had a sister named Mary. 

2). Mary was married to Henry White.

A couple that fits this description is living right by John and Rebecca Fisher White in 1830, our Henry and Mary White. 

Full disclosure--there are two John White's enumerated in the 1830 Preble County, Ohio Census. How do we know this is the correct John White? Joseph Stover. His mother was Esther Gochenour, Rebecca's aunt.

So, are Rebecca and Mary sisters? I think so, but let's dig further.

Researching White Genealogy with a Hottel Family Book?

History of the descendants of John Hottell...

A quick review--while researching John White of Preble County, Ohio, for Henry White clues, a very tantalizing item turned up in another family's genealogy book. 

History of the descendants of John Hottell : (immigrant from Switzerland to America) and an authentic genealogical family register of ten generations from the first of the name in America, 1732, to the present time, 1929, with numerous brief biographical sketches, collected and compiled from many indisputable sources : court and church records, old and late family records and tombstones of the many states in the Union (Strasburg, Va.: Shenandoah Pub., 1930) by W. D. Huddle, page 596 contains a short, almost throw-away, paragraph about an allied Shenandoah County family (emphasis mine):

"George Fisher, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He m. Barbara Biedler and located on Stony Creek, about one mile above Edinburg, Va. He was a miller by vocation. He d. May 4, 1814, his wife, May 19, 1832. Children: John, Jacob, William, George, Elizabeth, wife of John Kokenour [a variant of Gochenour or vice versa]; Adam, David, Martin, Catherine, wife of Mathias Stover; Rebecca, wife of John White; Mary, wife of Henry White; Susanna, wife of John Johnson; Rachel, wife of Paul Hottel; Anna, wife of Joseph Wisman; Christena, wife of John H. Funkhouser; and Samuel Fisher."

I'm not sure where W. D. Huddle obtained his information. My guess is that it came from George Fisher's will because it only mentions George's third/final wife. George first married Catherine, who, according to a Bible owned in 1977 by a Bessie Shillingburg, died 30 September 1790. Next, he married Mary Gochenour on January 4, 1791 in Shenandoah County, VA. Mary didn't live long after this, dying sometime before George married his third wife, Barbara Biedler, on 23 March 1794. 

Mary Gochenour's father, Jacob Gochenour, in a will dated 13 October 1809, wrote:

 "...my two grand children, Rebecca Fisher and Mary Fisher (children of my daughter Mary, deceased, late wife  of George Fisher, one  share)." Therefore, Mary only had two living daughters, Rebecca and Mary Fisher. (Jacob's will also shows that both granddaughters were single in late 1809, the date the will was written.)

Is our Henry White married to this Mary Fisher? It seems very possible, given that Mary and Rebecca were living next to each other in Preble County, Ohio, in 1830. But does Mary's age actually fit the necessary time frame to be Mary Fisher? She would need to be born sometime between 1791 and March of 1794. According to her tombstone, she was born 6 December, 1791. So far, so good. But let's keep digging...

Mary's Headstone

Mary's Headstone
Photo by Larry Spangler

White Cemetery, Henry County, Missouri

Mary White
Find a Grave Memorial #37763410

Mary
Wife of Henry White

Birth:

1792 Virginia, USA

Death:

Nov. 11, 1858 Henry County Missouri, USA

Larry Spangler took this very clear photo of Mary's headstone for Find a Grave. The stone is so mottled, I didn't notice at first that her age is engraved on it in days, months and years. This is an important clue for Mary's identity--66 years, 11 months, and 5 days, placing her birth on 6 December 1791.

Henry White's Headstone

Henry White's Headstone
Photo by Larry Spangler

White Cemetery, Henry County, Missouri

Henry White
Find a Grave memorial #37763296

Birth:	Aug. 5, 1775 Virginia, USA
Death:	Mar. 26, 1853 Henry County Missouri, USA
Larry Spangler posted the accompanying photo of Henry White's headstone to Find a Grave. He captured a very clear image of the death year, 1853.

This is important because there's a discrepancy in death year information. Check the year against the following:

Henry County, Missouri Abstracts of Wills and Administrations 1835-1854, compiled by Jacqueline Hogan Williams & Betty Harvey Williams, 1968.
p. 38
"Henry White. Died intestate. Adm. Jacob White appt. 22 Nov. 1852. Sec. (Securities) Frederick McNew and Joseph White."

So, which is correct, the transcription (1852) or the tombstone (1853)?