Sophia

 

Sophia Oyler Gale. Source: S. Pasko.

As common as the name George in the Oyler family, the name Sophia appears many times. George Oyler Sr (1795)'s second wife was named Sophia. His brother Samuel Oyler (another Samuel!) married Sophia Rabson and had a daughter named Sophia (born in 1826). George's son William G. Oyler also had a daughter named Sophia, as did George's son Daniel. Today's subject is Samuel and Marianna's daughter Sophia Oyler, born in Hamilton County, Ohio on 8 February 1853. The photo of Sophia above was shared on Ancestry by Oyler cousin Susan.

In the 1870 US Census, this Sophia was 16, working as a domestic servant in the home of Thomas B. Calloway, a neighbor of Sophia's grandfather George Sr, and of Samuel P. Bowles, where her brother George W. was working as a farm laborer alongside her future husband, John Gale.

1870 US Census. Hamilton County, Ohio.

Sophia and John were married around 1874. They had 11 children. My Dad's DNA results currently show 15 matches descending from three of those children.

By 1880, Sophia and John had a place of their own in Harrison, Ohio, and three sons, Lewis, Nicholas and William. They were also hosting Sophia's younger brother, Samuel Jr., who was assisting as a farm hand.

1880 US Census. Hamilton County, Ohio.

Also in 1880, Sophia brought suit in Hamilton County Court for money against a George Oyler. It is unclear if this suit was brought against her grandfather, George Sr., one of her uncles named George, or her brother (although he was living in Franklin County, Indiana at the time so I think that was unlikely).

Cincinnati Daily Gazette. 30 Apr 1880.

In 1900, Sophia and John appear in Milford, Butler County, Ohio, a small town outside Cincinnati. The family relocated to Southern Illinois by 1910, and were living in Sand Ridge, Jackson County, Illinois in the 1910 US Census.

Sophia died in Jackson County, Illinois on 13 November 1915.