Multiple Families

 

FamilySearch. Dubois County, Ind. marriages, 1844.

In looking into the families of Thomas P. Medcalf, Allison's 4th-great-grandfather, there are several families to sort through. He was born in Kentucky in 1823, and first married Martha Main (or Maine) in Dubois County, Indiana on 13 May 1844. Martha was pregnant then, and had a daughter Mary E. Medcalf on 2 June 1844. Martha died on 11 April 1847 in Dale, Spencer County, Indiana, and Thomas promptly remarried to young widow Julia Ann Musgrave Coleden (or Colden). She became Allison's 4th-great-grandmother.

FamilySearch. Spencer County, Ind. marriages, 1847.

Julia was born about 1822 in Kentucky, and had previously married Edmund Coleden (or Colden) on 7 September 1842 in Dearborn County, Indiana. That marriage had produced a daughter, Melvina Colden, in 1846. Edmund likely died in late 1846 or early 1847. Julia and Melvina settled in Spencer County, Indiana, near her brother James and parents Moses and Lydia Musgrave. They appear in the 1850 Census in Spencer County (Moses is listed incorrectly as 15).

1850 US Census. Spencer County, Indiana.

Emma Medcalf was born about 1853 or 1854 in Spencer County. In the 1860 US Census, the family appears in Carter Township, Spencer County.

1860 US Census. Spencer County, Indiana.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Thomas joined the Union Army. According to a Civil War widow's pension application, Julia died in Spencer County on 25 March 1861. I'll have more on Thomas' Civil War service in another post.

Photo by Patrick Jones, taken 27 Dec 2012 at US National Archives.

Thomas moved the family down the Ohio River to Warrick County, and married another widow, Elizabeth Magoon Roberts, on 15 July 1862. She was born in Canada in 1823, and had six children of her own with first husband Moses Roberts. Elizabeth and Moses were married on 28 May 1838 in Geauga County, Ohio. They relocated to Warrick County, Indiana prior to 1850.

After the war, Thomas served as a justice of the peace in Warrick County. In the 1870 US Census, he was listed as a wagon maker.

1870 US Census. Warrick County, Indiana.

Thomas died on 3 January 1877. According to Elizabeth's widow's pension application, Thomas had been found dead in Evansville. A jury investigated the death, and determined he died of exposure to cold. The file states that he was 5 foot 10 inches, had a gray beard, and "was dressed in his ordinary wearing apparel." He had 25 cents in his pocket and some laundry papers.

Elizabeth remained in Newburgh, Warrick County and died on 22 January 1905.