CHARITY BOYD AND DAUGHTER PHEBE
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In reply to:
Re: CHARITY BOYD b 1732
8/17/00
James and Phebe's son William apparently never married. He left his entire estate to his brothers and sisters in his will of 1840 filed in Fountain Co, Ill. At this time I only have an abstract of the will and I have found no one who has looked at the Probate file. William died 30 Mar 1842 and is buried in the Beedle/Riffle Cemetery. His brothers and sisters were:
1) Joseph born Mar 1814 died 1 Apr 1835
2) Mary born Oct 1816 died 29 Jun 1833
3) Simeon (I have no dates of birth or death) He married in Montgomery Co, before 1850 but I have missfiled the marriage record. I think his wife's first name was Anna. The online Indiana marriage records are down at the moment so I will post Simeon's marriage date later.
4) Sarah Jane (the will says Jane) born 5 Mar 1823 died 21 Feb 1851 in Piatt Co, Ill. She married David Matsler on 13 Oct 1846 also in Piatt Co.
5) Eliza born abt 1827 died 1856/1857 in Burnet Co, Tx. Married William LaForge on 13 Oct 1846 in Piatt Co, Ill.
6) James Aaron born 15 May 1830 died 23 Jul 1885 in Montgomery Co, Ill. He married Harriet Elizabeth Rivers on 9 Sep 1852 in Montgomery Co.
7) Aaron
At some point, after Phebe's death, both Sarah Jane and Eliza went Piatt Co, Ill and stayed with their Aunt Eliza Beedle who had married Abraham Collins settling in Piatt Co. In William's will he called his sister Jane. This can only be Sarah Jane as the marriage record says Sarah Morrow.
I was able to fit all the pieces together after getting a typed copy of the Matsler Journal telling of the wagon train that took the Matsler's and LaForge's from Piatt Co. Ill to Burnet Co, Tx in Oct 1852. The story has been passed down, in one form or another, in many of the families that were members of the wagon train. By that time Sarah Jane had died and David had remarried. David's brother George had married Rebecca Peck.
On 22 Dec 1852 Rebecca sent a letter to her parents who were back in Piatt Co. She included this message: "Mrs. LaForge sends her best respects to all of her friends. She says she is very dissatisfied and her children are all sick and she has been very sick herself. She wants you to tell her Aunt Eliza Collins to send her a letter real soon."Try as we might no one has been able to find who has the original letter. We know it was in the possession of George and Rebecca's gr granddaughter as late as 1958.
On 4 Mar 1856 Eliza Morrow LaForge left her will in Burnet Co, Tx. In her will she leaves all of her estate to her beloved husband William LaForge. She states: "I also bequeath to my beloved husband Wm LaForge all my interest in a legacy due me in my father James Morrow's Estate in Montgomery Co, Indiana." By 28 Feb 1857 Eliza had died and Testamentary letters were given to William as she had named him Executor.
In March 1860 William LaForge left Burnet Co and went to Indiana. He took his daughters Mary (twin sister of Jane who were from his 2nd marriage to Jane Tinbrook) and Serilda. Eliza was Wm's 3rd wife. Serilda is the only known surviving child of Eliza's. Unfortunately Eliza only named her husband in her will. Serilda was born in April 1854 in Burnet Co, Tx. She married Evan Philander Hall on 23 Aug 1873 in Grant Co, Indiana. She died between 1910 and 1912 in Sebastian Co, Ar. On the 1860 Grant Co, In census Serilda and Mary were living with their older sister (actually half sister) Emily LaForge Jones. Emily was from Wm's first marriage to Eliza Wythe.
I have more information about Serilda and Evan and all of their children as well as all 4 of Wm. LaForge's marriages.