Re: John B. Otten & Sarah Hedger #1; Harriett -?- # 2 wife of Campbell Co., KY
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In reply to:
Re: John B. Otten & Sarah Hedger #1; Harriett -?- # 2 wife of Campbell Co., KY
Bobbie Asche 5/11/05
I was very excited to find this discussion, and I may have something to add. My Great Grandfather was John Otten Kirkely. (Until recently, we wondered where his middle name "Otten" came from). Just last week I recieved information copied from a family Bible, which states that John's Mother was "Maggie" Otten. The Kirkleys lived in Kentucky and John's father owned land there (a plantation, by family tradition).
The Bible info lists Maggie Otten, as born on October, 3, 1852. When I looked into that, I found Margaret M. Otten, born Oct 3, 1852, in Campell Co. Kentucky. Father: John B. Otten and Mother: Sarah Ann Hedger.
I'm a novice at genealogy, but given the exact same birhtdate, in the right state, with the not too common name of Otten, I think that our Maggie Otten is likely Margaret M.Otten.
What's interesting for this discussion, is that her mother is listed Sarah Ann Hedger, not John B.'s second wife Harriet.
From what I'm seeing, that would mean the 1900 census of Harriet's children included *step-children* of Harriet originally born to Sarah Ann.
Your discussion had a death date for Sarah of 1855, so since John B. and Sarah Ann are listed as parents of Margeret M., Then it seems more likely to me that Sarah's death in 1855 ended their marriage, rather than an earlier divorce, and that the children Mary, Margaret, and possibly Louisa Otten are Harriet's step-children.
The birth date for Margaret in the census records you cite is 1854, but I'm finding that a lot of ages on census records are off by a year or two - For example, I've seenan entire family shift 2 years in age between the 1870 and 1880 census.
Also, I found John Otten Kirkley listed as "Otto" on 1880 census records. My Grandmother had told us that most people called him that.
One more thing: My grandmother told us that we had "Pennsylvania Dutch" in the family, and I have not been able to find it. (you probably know that the Pennsylvania Dutch were actually German.)If the Otten trail grows cold in Kentucky, I wonder if it might make sense to look in Pennsylvania.
I have very little information on John B, Otten and Sarah Ann Hedger, so I would very much appreciate anything you could pass on to me.
Thanks,
Dan Taylor