Richard MARKS (1753-?) and Mercy STOKES (1755-?) -Married in 1781

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Edna OTWELL > Edwin OTWELL > Jane ASH > Anna Maria MARKS > Uriah MARKS > Richard MARKS and Mercy STOKES

Richard MARKS was born about 1753 in North Bradley, Wiltshire, England. We have not identified his parents.

He married Rachel READ in North Bradley, Wiltshire, England on 3 February 1778. Rachel was the widow of James AVEN (1762-1777) and had at least 7 children from that previous marriage.

Richard and Rachel had at least one child named James. He was christened 1 January 1779. Rachel died in 1781 and was buried 9 January 1781.

On 8 June 1781, Richard next married 26 year old spinster Mercy STOKES (born to James STOKES and Ann Langley and christened 2 November 1755 in North Bradley).

Mercy gave birth to her first child Jane (christened 21 April 1782). Jane died in August 1782. Richard and Mercy may have moved to Stapleton, Gloucestershire, England. Their second child William was christened there on 12 September 1786. By 1804, they moved to Heytesbury, Wiltshire, England. Their third child, Uriah (our ancestor) was born in 1794 and he and their fourth child, Anne, were christened 5 February 1804 in Heytesbury.

Richard and Mercy lived during the reign of George II and George III of England.

No additional information has been found for Richard or Mercy. This ends the MARKS research.

Uriah MARKS (1794-) and Susanna DIX -Married in 1817



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Edna OTWELL > Edwin OTWELL > Jane ASH > Anna Maria MARKS > Uriah MARKS and Susanna DIX 

Anna Maria was born and baptized in Heytesbury, Wiltshire, England and her parents were Uriah MARKS, shearman, and Susanna. 

Uriah MARKS’ parents were Richard MARKS and Mercy STOKES (1755-?). The family was originally from North Bradley, Wiltshire, England and had moved to Heytesbury by Uriah's baptism on 5 February 1804. Uriah was born in 1794, so he was about 10 years old when he was baptized.  The name Uriah appears several times in the STOKES family of North Bradley.

We found a 5 October 1817 record of marriage for Uriah MARKS, bachelor to Susanna DIX, spinster in the transcript of Heytesbury Marriages, 1653-1827. The same information was found on Pallots Marriage Index, 1780-1837 and in the Wiltshire Parish Registers.  The marriage is the earliest record we have for Susanna.

From Pallots Marriage Index, 1780-1837

Uriah and Susanna had at least 5 children: Anna Maria (our ancestor), Elizabeth (born in 1820), Eliza (born in 1822), William, Jane and Henry.  Baby Henry was baptized in 1830 and died in 1831.  Susanna also died in 1831.

The family history recorded by genealogist Stilson HART states that William and possibly Lizzie were the names of the siblings that came to Toronto with Anna Maria after the death of their parents. William became a Methodist Minister and we found records confirming he had taught in a Sunday School in Toronto. No solid information has been found for Lizzie, though we have found a marriage registry in Toronto for Elizabeth MARKS who married John PUDNEY with witness William ASH (Anna Maria's husband's name).

To date, the only death record found for a Uriah MARKS in England was an 1846 record in Alderberry, another small Wiltshire village, but it is doubtful this is the same person since Anna Maria was in Canada before her 1838 marriage.

Interestingly, a Uriah MARKS showed up in the 1842 Toronto census. He was listed as a laborer. We also found a Toronto marriage registry for Uriah MARKS to Mary BRIEN on 25 May 1846. The marriage was by Banns and the witnesses were William MARKS and Elijah MARKS (which looks a bit like "Eliza MARKS"). Could Uriah have brought his children to Toronto? More research is needed.

Oh Canada

Our Sim and Otwell ancestors originally came from Scotland, England and Ireland.  However, five of our ancestors were born in Ontario, Canada.  All five of them later immigrated to the United States where they died and are buried.

Jane ASH-OTWELL was born in Toronto on November 13, 1847 and died in Detroit on January 18, 1935.

Mary Ann WALLACE-SIM was born in Owen Sound in May 1869 and died in Buffalo on May 2, 1945.

John Wm. SIM was born in Colborne on August 7, 1870 and died in Buffalo on July 4, 1954.

Edwin J. OTWELL was born in St. Mary's on October 11, 1871 and died in Buffalo on June 2, 1920.

Mary J. CHARNOCK-OTWELL was born in London, ON on March 3, 1874 and died in Buffalo on October 18, 1935.

Two of our relatives were returned to their beloved Canada for burial.   James SIM died in Batavia, NY and his body was returned to Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada for burial.  John Franklin Otwell died in Detroit, Michigan and was buried in London, Ontario.

Canada was a stepping stone in our journey to the land of opportunity, the United States.  Eleven other ancestors are buried in Canada.  They include Elizabeth Gruer-Sim, William Wallace, Mary Huston-Wallace, William Huston, Esther Park-Huston, Robert Charnock, Eliza Scott-Charnock, Maurice Otwell, William Ash, Anna Maria Marks-Ash-Atwell and Mary H. Taylor-Otwell.

Ontario Map with Locations of Families

Anna Maria MARKS-ASH-ATWELL (1817-1899)

Anna Maria, photo curtesy of cousin Carolyn F.

Edna OTWELL- SIM > Edwin OTWELL > Jane ASH-OTWELL > Anna Maria MARKS

Like her husband William ASH, some of what we know about Anna Maria is based on histories compiled long ago by Stilson ASHE, Jr. (1918-) and shared by our third cousins David H. and Carolyn F. This was written by Stilson’s aunt, Esther ASHE, granddaughter of Anna Maria:

• "Maria Marks (Father’s Mother) was born at Haysburg, Devonshire, England (Date unknown) An englishman thought it (Haysburg) near the center of Devonshire, not far from the Doons’ in the story of “Lorna Doone”. Maria Marks’ parents died. She being the oldest, emigrated to Toronto with her brothers and sisters. One brother, William Marks, became a Methodist Minister in Toronto. She had a sister Lizzie I think. Maria Marks was apparently a young lady when she left England. She told of lacing her corset so tight one day, when she went to church, everything turned black. When she came too she was lying on the church steps and the red feather in her hat was broken."

Anna Maria was known as Maria. She was the eldest daughter of Uriah MARKS and Susanna DIX of Heytesbury, Wiltshire, England born 13 November 1817. She immigrated with her siblings to Toronto, Ontario before 1838. She married William ASH on 12 May 1838 in Toronto and they settled in Uxbridge, Ontario.
  

William and Maria had at least 5 children: Maria SCHEFFER, Elizabeth PATTERSON, William ASH, James ASHE and Jane OTWELL (our ancestor).  William died in 1847 when Maria was about 3 months pregnant with Jane. After his death, Maria returned to Toronto where her siblings resided. She gave birth there to Jane.

On 30 April 1848, Maria next married farmer John ATWELL (1818 - 1903) of Pennsylvania. This blended family settled on a farm near St. Mary’s, West Nissouri, Middlesex, Ontario. They lived in a log cabin and had at least 4 additional children: Hannah ROSS, George, Ellen and Levi. There was also a son named John born in 1848; he may be Maria’s or he may have been John’s from a previous marriage. The family appears on the 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1891 West Nissouri censuses. The family was Episcopalian in the 1851 census and Canadian Methodist in 1861, 1871 and 1891.

In January 2017, cousin David H. found one of the ATWELL descendants, cousin Gayle J. of Ailsa Craig, Ontario.  She was not able to tell us anything new about William ASH, but she did have some information on Maria.  The following is from David's email:

• "After we established that Anna Maria was our mutual ancestor, she said that every year her mother would place flowers at the ATWELL gravesite in North Nissouri Cemetery where we visited. When she and her mother ever talked about family history together, they would wonder what happened to the ASH siblings--nobody in the ATWELL family knew."
• "Gayle told me a little about great-great-grandmother Anna Maria. She was greatly respected and loved in the community, and people would rather go see her than a doctor.. She delivered a large number of the babies born in the area. What a wonderful reputation."

Maria died at age 82 in 1899 and was buried at the North Nissouri Presbyterian Cemetery.

Anna Maria's Obit, 11 May 1899
From St. Mary's Museum

Visit her on-line memorial:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=141039169

William ASH (1817-1847)

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Edna OTWELL- SIM > Edwin OTWELL > Jane ASH-OTWELL > William ASH

Much of what we know about William is based on family historian Stilson HART (1918-) and shared by our third cousins David H. and Carolyn F.  This was written by Stilson’s aunt, Esther ASHE, granddaughter of William:

"Father’s Father whose name was William ASHE was born in Armagh County about 50 miles north of Dublin, 1817. He married May 12, 1838 and died April 29, 1847, in Canada, near Uxbridge, Ont. He had gone away on horseback. They found him lying on the ground beside his horse, his clothing unfastened and his body bloated. He had this trouble some time before his death. He must have been quite young when he came to America."

First, you will note that this family spells the surname ASHE as they are all descended from the one son, James ASHE, who spelled it that way. All of the other children used ASH and the documents we have found confirm the ASH spelling.


William ASH was born in Ireland and immigrated to Canada. Our earliest possible record is the marriage register for William ASH, widower of Toronto to spinster Hanna MARKS on 12 May 1838 in Toronto. We know that his wife’s name was Anna Maria MARKS and though the bride’s name does not match exactly, it is likely this is our William.  If the year of birth is true, he immigrated and was previously married by age 21.

In 1839, their first known child, Maria, was baptized in Toronto.  William's occupation was listed as a shoe-maker.  In 1844, they appear in Etobicoke Wesleyan Mehodist baptism records for their son William.  Etobicoke is near Toronto.

In an 1847 directory for Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada, we found a William ASH occupying lot 6, concession 2. It is not known if he owned the parcel or leased it. A map found from 1870s shows that the lot had been divided into 4 smaller parcels with individual homes, a grist mill and a church.

• This parcel was later known as the OTEWELL (no relation to our OTWELL line) Homestead and the Uxbridge Museum curator shared photos of the home and barns published in a book The Inventory of Historic Homes. There is a note in this book stating that the owners were Quakers and it is unknown what date the structures were built.  Quakers from Pennsylvania were the earliest settlers to this area.

William and Anna Maria had at least 5 children: Maria SCHEFFER, Elizabeth PATTERSON, William, James ASHE, Jane OTWELL (our ancestor). William died when Anna Maria was pregnant with Jane. The final document we have for William is Jane’s death certificate which listed her parent’s names.

At the time of his death in 1847, he would have been 30 years old.  We do not know where he was buried.

This ends the ASH research.

More children of Maurice and Jane OTWELL

Match Girls courtesy of cousin Janin

Edna's Aunts and Uncles (paternal side)

There was no label on this photo, but it is suspected that these 2 girls were the younger OTWELL siblings (Edith, Ila May or Victoria).  The curator of the St. Mary's Museum thinks that the costumes were from a children's parade.  If you look closely, the costumes are made out of match advertisements.

 

In addition to Edwin OTWELL (our ancestor) and John Franklin OTWELL (the younger), Maurice and Jane had 5 more children:

 

William Charles (1868-1906) married Elizabeth NEAR in 1889.  They lived in Toronto and William was a barber.  He died at age 38.  They had a daughter named Faye.  Elizabeth moved to Chicago and married BIRMINGHAM.

 

Mary Ellen (1873-1939) married Isaac Arthur HALEY in 1889.  They soon immigrated to Detroit and Jane joined them in 1903.  They had 8 children and genealogist Jackie HALTERMAN was a descendant of that line.  Mary Ellen died at age 66 of diabetes and chronic nephritis (inflammation of kidneys).

The HALEY family; photo courtesy of cousin Janin.

The HALEYs; photo courtesy of cousin Herb OTWELL

 

Edith Ann (1875-1955) married Charles PAGE in 1903 and had one daughter.  They remained in Michigan.  She died at age 80.

 

Ila May (1877-1928) married William MCLEOD in 1898.  That marriage didn't last and she immigrated with Jane to Detroit in 1903.  Next, she married George G. YOUNIE.  No children they remained in Detroit. She died at age 51 of chronic nephritis .

 

Victoria Jane (1884-1972) also came to Detroit in 1903.  She married Joseph FREISLEBEN in 1920.  Joseph had a daughter from a previous relationship.  They moved to California.  No additional children.  Victoria was the longest lived of the siblings; she died in 1972 at age 88.

 

 

• It is interesting that 2 brothers died before the age of 50 (William and Edwin). 
• Also interesting that most of the siblings had no children or only one child.  Edwin had 10 while Mary Ellen had 8.
• You may also note that several of the siblings married in 1898 - the year Maurice was committed.



John OTWELL (1866-1941) & descendants

John F. OTWELL
All photo courtesy Herb OTWELL

Edna's Uncle (paternal line)

From an email by cousin Herb OTWELL, 2012:

“He was a 'corker' as my grandmother used to say. He and Vianna lived in the same house with my grandmother and grandfather til both died. My grandfather and an old carpenter built the house in 1933. I sold it when my grandmother died in 1987. It is still standing and people still live in it. My grandmother said John F. would get on the City Bus or street car and ride up town. He would go to the Log Cabin Saloon and drink a couple of beers. Then he would make the trip home with two pails of draft beer, which he would drink while he worked on type writers and adding machines. ...My grandmother said he had a quick temper and would curse a blue streak if something happened he didn't like. Vianna was quiet…. I always wondered how long it took them to make that trip to Canada from Louisiana in the mid 30's. As far as I know they drove but they may have taken the train.”



John Franklin OTWELL
and his nephew John Franklin HALEY
circa 1935

John Franklin OTWELL, born March 1866, was the eldest son of Maurice OTWELL (1845-1915) and Jane ASH (1847-1935). He was named after his grandfather, the elder John Franklin OTWELL (1821-1908). John grew up on the OTWELL Farm near St. Mary’s. 

 

John married Rebecca SAGER on 1 July 1889 in Cherry Grove, Ontario. She was 7 years older than John.

On the 1891 census, John and Rebecca lived in London, Ontario. John’s occupation was farm laborer.

 

On 30 November 1896, John next marries Vianna MURPHREE (1876-1954) in Blount County, Alabama. They had one child named Emmett Dewey.

 


John F., circa 1935

On 19 December 1898, Rebecca filed for divorce in Wayne Co., Michigan on the grounds of desertion. Divorce was finalized 13 October 1899. Rebecca was next found in a 1903, 1904 and 1905 directories living in Detroit, Wayne Co., Michigan. Her occupation was a nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital.

 

John, Vianna and Emmett were found on the 1900 census living in Falkville, Morgan Co., Alabama. On this census, John claims he was born in Ohio. In the 1940 census, John and Vianna were living in Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. On this census, John claims he was born in Michigan.

 


John appeared as the informant on the death certificate for his mother Jane ASH-OTWELL in Detroit in 1935.

 

John died 13 November 1941 in Monroe. Birthplace listed was Canada, but his parents are listed as John OTWELL and Mary. He was laid to rest at Riverview Cemetery.

John F. OTWELL

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Emmett Dewey OTWELL, Sr.

Emmett Dewey OTWELL, Sr. was born 6 May 1898 in Alabama. He married Ludie Mae GODWIN in 1924 and they had one child named Emmett Dewey, Jr. Emmett, Sr. died 18 Feb 1950 in Louisiana and was buried in Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery.

More from Herb, 2012: 

"Emmett Sr. grew up in Alabama and served in "Lima" Co. 167th Infantry, 42 Infantry Division "Rainbow Division", Alabama National Guard during WWI. He went to France and Germany and after being overseas for almost 3 years came home."

 “My great grand father repaired typwriters and adding machines. My grand father worked with him. They came to Monroe La. in 1923 and stayed in a rooming house owned by my other great grand mother, Emma Victoria Godwin. He met my grand mother Ludie Mae Godwin and they got married in 1924”

"Emmett went to work for the Monroe Louisiana Fire Department in 1930 and worked there until he was killed in an auto accident in 1951."

 



Herb OTWELL and his grandfather Emmett OTWELL, Sr.

 Herb's daughter Janin, 2017:

"This photo was taken a few weeks at most before Emmett Sr. was killed in a car wreck. My father was always very sad about losing his Grandfather so early. I think because his dad didn't like to spend time with him. The story goes that his grandfather was IN LOVE with his grandson. They lived behind Elva and Emmett Jr.'s house. Elva could see from her house when Emmett Sr. would get home from work. She would immediately get Herbie ready to visit with his grandfather. Emmett Sr. would walk over and get Herbie and sit under a fig tree with him between their two houses. Playing with him and talking to him. That picture in the story was in his wallet when he was killed."

_________________________

 

Emmett Dewey OTWELL, Jr.

Emmett Dewey OTWELL, Jr. was born in 1925 in Louisiana. He enlisted in the military 20 April 1943. He married Elva and they had one child named Herb. Emmett died 21 May 1972 and was buried in Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery.

James Albert GODWIN, Ludie Mae and Emmett, Jr.

Herb, 2012:

"My father was a police officer for the City of Monroe as was I. He died in 1972 at the age of 47."

 _________________________

Herb OTWELL was born 23 November 1948 in Monroe, Louisiana. He died 14 January 2016 and was buried in Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery. He provided a great deal of information to us on his and his daughter's research and research done by cousins Arlene ROLA and Jackie HALTERMAN. 

Herb OTWELL
Photo from on-line memorial