Possibly the most heavily represented branch of Henry White's family in the LDS IGI is Joseph and Sarah White's family through their son, Eli Perry White. For the time being, I'll set these two branches aside and focus on some lines that seem less commonly researched.
Henry and Mary Fisher White's son, David, disappeared after the 1860 census. While trying to find him, I stumbled across an interesting candidate: David Fischer/Fisher White.
In 1850, David was living in Henry White Sr.'s household in Henry County, Missouri.
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| Year: 1850; Census Place: Grand River, Henry, Missouri; Roll: M432_401; Page: 27A; Image: 57. |
Mary and Henry White passed away in the 1850's. In 1860, David lived with his brother, Jacob White in Osage Township of Henry County, Missouri. David was listed as a blacksmith, born in Ohio, age 29.
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| Year: 1860; Census Place: Osage, Henry, Missouri; Roll: M653_622; Page: 826; Image: 340; Family History Library Film: 803622. |
In the 1870 census, David vanished completely. He was nowhere in Henry County, Missouri. By 1870, Jacob White moved to St. Clair County, Missouri, just south of Henry County, Missouri, but David wasn't with him there, either.
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| St. Clair County, Missouri. Map from familysearch. |
Enter David Fischer White. His whereabouts are unknown for the 1850 and 1860 censuses. However, Malinda Caroline Estes' family was in the 1860 St. Clair County, Missouri census. Did David meet Malinda in St. Clair County?
David Fischer White lived with his wife and children in Benton County, Arkansas in 1870. Benton County, Arkansas was not a familiar White family location to me. David was enumerated beside a Noah White who also seemed unfamiliar:
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| Year: 1870; Census Place: Round Prairie, Benton, Arkansas; Roll: M593_47; Page: 314B; Image: 625; Family History Library Film: 545546. |
On the upside, David Fischer White was exactly the same age as our David White, and he was also born in Ohio. Not only that, he was a blacksmith. Interestingly, his two oldest children were named Henry Bluford and Mary Rebecca. Their middle names came from their mother's parents. Did their first names come from their father's parents?
The death certificate for David's son, B. F. White, gave David's birthplace as Dayton, Ohio. The informant was H. B. White. I created a pink rectangle over Lanier township where Henry White was enumerated in 1830--the same year David was born. See anything interesting to the right of this rectangle?
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| Rough representation of Lanier Twp. in Preble County, Ohio |
Another interesting tidbit turned up in Carey Bracewell's Family Tree Maker site. His information for David Fisher White is here. Carey Bracewell wrote that "According to Cora White Price [David's daughter] and the census schedules, David F. White was a blacksmith. Cora also says his middle name, Fisher, was his mother's maiden name."
I've theorized for weeks that David's middle name was his mother's maiden name. Now I know it's a fact--not just wishful thinking. I think we have our man. Carey, a former history major, also came to the same conclusion, attaching David Fisher White to our Henry and Mary White in his family tree long before my independent theory that Mary's maiden name was Fisher.
David's later censuses cloud the issue, sometimes giving other locations for his birthplace such as Alabama. For his parents' birthplace, he once listed Germany. Mary Fisher White may have spoken German since the Fisher's line emigrated from Germany and the Gochenour's, though Swiss, are thought to come from the German Palatinate.
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| Map of Benton County, Arkansas from FamilySearch |
David Fisher White and his family moved on into Texas, but his niece, Margaret Lee Cavitt, spent her last days in Benton County, Arkansas. Maybe it was a White hangout, after all? And just who was this Tenessee Noah White who lived by David in 1870?
Does it come as any surprise to see a post end with a Noah White mystery?
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