The Children of Wagonmaker John R. Marker of Pennsylvania
One of the dead-ends in my family tree is the origin of John Marker and his wife Mary. They are the parents of Claretta Marker, who married William Hackett.
John R. Marker was born in 1795 in Somerset, Pennsylvania. He married Mary Erie (b. 1802, Pennsylvania) presumably around 1820 in Somerset, Pennsylvania. Mary’s origin is unclear. Her surname could actually be Ulry or Airey. It is assumed that she was Pennsylvania Dutch or Quaker and that is why any records on her are unavailable.
John died July 5, 1873, in Athens Co., Ohio, and is buried in Fort Street Cemetery in Nelsonville, Ohio. Mary died September 29, 1876, and is buried in Two Ridges Cemetery, Island Creek, Ohio.
Prior to the full settlement of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, John started the first wagonshop there in 1828. He then moved to Athens Co., Ohio, with his family to continue that work. According to some of his grandchildren, his wife and children left for Salineville about 1850. The 1850 U.S. Census shows that the family had indeed split up by that point, with Mary living in Island Creek, Jefferson Co., Ohio.
John and Mary Marker had at least 6 children:
1. Claretta “Clara” Marker born in 1823. She married William Hackett (see above). Some of the family referred to her as Mary.
2. Israel born about 1826 in Pennsylvania. He married Charlotte Collins (~1831-1855) in November 1851 in Athens Co., Ohio. He died in 1891 and is buried in Liscomb Cemetery, Marshall Co., Iowa, near his son Charles.
3. Peter Frederick born April 25, 1837, in Somerset, Pennsylvania. He married Charlotte Scott (1839, England – 1930, Iowa) in Jefferson Co., Ohio, in January 1862. He was a Union soldier mustered out of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1865 (see the muster rolls here). He died October 7, 1894, in Clay Co., Iowa. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Spencer, Iowa.
4. William C. born 1838 in Athens Co., Ohio. He appears to have been a Private in Company D of the Ohio 98th Infantry Regiment, mustered 1862 at Evansville, Indiana. He died December 1, 1862, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Evansville, Indiana.
5. Sarah Ann born July 1839 in Nelsonville, Ohio. She married James C. Kirkpatrick (1836-1926) in Jefferson Co., Ohio, in 1861. She died March 19, 1922, in Marshall Co., Iowa, and is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Marshalltown, Iowa.
6. Daniel born August 19, 1844, in Athens Co., Ohio. In 1862 he enlisted as a Private in Company D of the Ohio 98th Infantry Regiment. He married Virginia “Ella” Gorsuch (1854-1913) in Jefferson Co., Ohio, in 1870. He died October 26, 1921, in Jefferson Co., Ohio, and is buried in Center Chapel Cemetery, Steubenville, Ohio.
Two other children are mentioned by Peter’s children in correspondence shared on Ancestry.
One is John, who may be their eldest child. The 1830 U.S. Census does indicate another young child living with John and Clara Marker at that time. He had likely moved out on their own before the 1850 Census, the first to list the names of all household members, was conducted.
The other was a son, James, who is likely not Mary’s. James B. Marker was born May 4, 1841, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. According to the 1850 U.S. Census, he did not live with Mary when she left her husband, but he also did not live with his father (he was likely living with whoever his mother was). James B. married Mariah Lidghard (1838-1911) in Pulaski, Indiana, in 1861. In 1865 he was a Private in Company G of the Indiana 151st Infantry. He died March 21, 1904, in Pulaski Co., Indiana, and is buried in Star City West Cemetery, Star City, Indiana.
For more information on the historical aspects, see:
History of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania: with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men. Waterman, Watkins & Co.: Chicago, 1884. p. 520.
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