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| Lone Oak Township, Bates County, Missouri |
I don't remember how he first came to my attention, but James Alden Menasco of Lone Oak Township in Bates County, Missouri, surrounded himself with an interesting group of people. James was born in Dardanelle, Yell County, Arkansas on 13 February 1852.
One of James' wives was Martha E. White, born about 1855 in Illinois. James and Martha were married 26 March 1876 in Bates County, Missouri. Martha didn't live long, dying sometime between 1878 and 1880, probably in Bates County. From her birth location, I immediately decided that she wasn't a White of interest.
James Menasco next married Mary Cavitt on 15 August 1880 in Bates County, Missouri. Mary appeared promising to me.
Finally, Thomas J. White lived in James' household in 1880 Bates County, Missouri. I assumed he was Martha's brother, and therefore of little consequence.
Wrong. Right. Wrong.
With my debatable family history instincts now set forth in black and White (sorry!), it's time to share a favorite White family origin theory--Beniah White. Was our Beniah White named for the earlier Beniah White of Loudoun County, Virginia?
We need to go back a little in time...on 23 March 1853, Nathaniel C. White married Louisa White in Adams County, Illinois. Martha E. White was their daughter. Not only was Martha blessed to inherit a double set of White family genes, her mother descended from this Loudoun County, Virginia White family. Martha suddenly became a person of great interest. Amazingly, it got even better: Martha lived in Henry County, Missouri in 1870, before she married James Menasco.
Next, Mary Cavitt Menasco. I really wanted her to be our missing Mary Cavitt. The last time we saw our Mary, she was living in Bates County, Missouri with her cousin, Sarah Ann White Blankenbaker. Only one house stood between the Blankenbaker's and James Menasco' s sisters, Martha Menasco and Lucy Menasco Finnell. (Thomas J. White, who was living in James' household in the 1880 census later married Martha Menasco in Wise County, Texas.) Mary Cavitt Menasco died in 1885 in Wise County, Texas.
In Menasco (Manasco/Monasco) Roots and Leaves: A History and Genealogy of Descendants of James Menasco, Born 1748, Va by Virginia O'Neal Norman, 1988, page 103, Mary's father was listed as Thos. M. Cavitt. I believe she is our Mary Cavitt!
Now we come to Thomas J. White. You saw in the first census posted above that Martha E. White Menasco didn't have a brother named Thomas J. White. With all the Henry County, Missouri White connections around him, I had to check--was Thomas another descendant of Henry White?
I think that Thomas J. White is probably Mary Jane White Blankenbaker's brother, the son of John and Nancy Smith White.
Jackpot! It's amazing how many White's James Menasco amassed in a few short years. (There's even a Silas L. White living near James in the 1880 Bates County Census, but his ancestors are difficult to trace.) Checking James Menasco' s ancestry two generations back, I saw no White connections that I recognized. (Unless Seays could actually be Teays?)
Admittedly, the Beniah White theory is still just a theory. That line was from Ireland, and our White's sometimes feel German. Still, it's a possible avenue of research if it turns out my instincts about the White's are off...again.
James Menasco next married Mary Cavitt on 15 August 1880 in Bates County, Missouri. Mary appeared promising to me.
Finally, Thomas J. White lived in James' household in 1880 Bates County, Missouri. I assumed he was Martha's brother, and therefore of little consequence.
Wrong. Right. Wrong.
With my debatable family history instincts now set forth in black and White (sorry!), it's time to share a favorite White family origin theory--Beniah White. Was our Beniah White named for the earlier Beniah White of Loudoun County, Virginia?
We need to go back a little in time...on 23 March 1853, Nathaniel C. White married Louisa White in Adams County, Illinois. Martha E. White was their daughter. Not only was Martha blessed to inherit a double set of White family genes, her mother descended from this Loudoun County, Virginia White family. Martha suddenly became a person of great interest. Amazingly, it got even better: Martha lived in Henry County, Missouri in 1870, before she married James Menasco.
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| Year: 1870; Census Place: Grand River, Henry, Missouri; Roll: M593_778; Page: 310B; Image: 629; Family History Library Film: 552277. |
Next, Mary Cavitt Menasco. I really wanted her to be our missing Mary Cavitt. The last time we saw our Mary, she was living in Bates County, Missouri with her cousin, Sarah Ann White Blankenbaker. Only one house stood between the Blankenbaker's and James Menasco' s sisters, Martha Menasco and Lucy Menasco Finnell. (Thomas J. White, who was living in James' household in the 1880 census later married Martha Menasco in Wise County, Texas.) Mary Cavitt Menasco died in 1885 in Wise County, Texas.
In Menasco (Manasco/Monasco) Roots and Leaves: A History and Genealogy of Descendants of James Menasco, Born 1748, Va by Virginia O'Neal Norman, 1988, page 103, Mary's father was listed as Thos. M. Cavitt. I believe she is our Mary Cavitt!
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| Year: 1880; Census Place: Lone Oak, Bates, Missouri; Roll: 673; Family History Film: 1254673; Page: 222B; Enumeration District: 159; Image: 0754. |
Now we come to Thomas J. White. You saw in the first census posted above that Martha E. White Menasco didn't have a brother named Thomas J. White. With all the Henry County, Missouri White connections around him, I had to check--was Thomas another descendant of Henry White?
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| Year: 1880; Census Place: Lone Oak, Bates, Missouri; Roll: 673; Family History Film: 1254673; Page: 222A; Enumeration District: 159; Image: 0753. |
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| Year: 1870; Census Place: Osage, Henry, Missouri; Roll: M593_778; Page: 324B; Image: 657; Family History Library Film: 552277. |
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| Year: 1860; Census Place: Osage, Henry, Missouri; Roll: M653_622; Page: 826; Image: 340; Family History Library Film: 803622. |
I think that Thomas J. White is probably Mary Jane White Blankenbaker's brother, the son of John and Nancy Smith White.
Jackpot! It's amazing how many White's James Menasco amassed in a few short years. (There's even a Silas L. White living near James in the 1880 Bates County Census, but his ancestors are difficult to trace.) Checking James Menasco' s ancestry two generations back, I saw no White connections that I recognized. (Unless Seays could actually be Teays?)
Admittedly, the Beniah White theory is still just a theory. That line was from Ireland, and our White's sometimes feel German. Still, it's a possible avenue of research if it turns out my instincts about the White's are off...again.
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