Introduction - What another, fantastic year for genealogy! We have searched and found a variety of new information and have had contacts with several new distant relatives who have been vital in providing information and precious photographs.

The Musselmans – Continued correspondence with Donald M. Musselman and his sons, Damon and Raymond, of Denver has resulted in my receipt of terrific photographs of Joseph H. and George W. Musselman, and their mother, Carrie (Donelson) Musselman. Carrie was the second wife of George Franklin Musselman.

Joseph Henry Musselman

1881 - 1965

Receipt of the obituary for John Charles Musselman, son of George W. Musselman, from Roseville, CA public library, provided a direction to search for the grandchildren of George W. Musselman near Reno, NV. Two surviving sons of John C. Musselman were listed in his obituary, Donald L. and Daniel G. Musselman. I mailed a probing letter to a Daniel G. Musselman of Sun Valley, NV, hoping that I’d find the right Daniel Musselman. I DID! I received an email from this Daniel Musselman’s son, Samuel, stating that his father was indeed Daniel G. Musselman, son of John C., grandson of George W. Musselman.

I am quite excited about locating these half-cousins of mine! I have shared what information that I have, so far, about our Musselman family tree and I’m patiently waiting to see what new information that they can provide.

A great website that I found was one which provides a searchable database of California death and birth records. From this website I was able to discover George W. Musselman’s first wife’s name,

Lillian Evans, as well as a few more people whom I believe are more children of George W. Musselman; Joseph Paul, Becky, and Bernice.

Carrie (Donelson) Musselman, Block

Abt. 1850 – Abt. 1925

While in South Dakota conducting research, Mom and Dad discovered some valuable information and clues. Two obituaries were discovered for George Franklin Musselman. I am positive that this is my GGG Grandfather.

"Dakota Democrat"

June 4, 1885

SUDDEN DEATH

On last Friday morning while attending to business at the depot in our city, George F. Mussmann dropped from his feet and almost immediately expired, from the effects of heart disease. Mr. Mussmann was an uncle to H. C. Mussmann, of our city, was 60 years old, and served thirty months in the Union army. An honest, upright citizen and a good soldier, Mr. Mussmann was highly respected by all who knew him. He leaves a family and many friends to mourn his loss.

The remains were buried Saturday afternoon in the new cemetery by the G. A. R. with the military ceremonies of that organization, of which he was a prominent member.

George William Musselman

1883 - 1963

"Chamberlain Register"

June 4, 1885

Friday morning last as the train for the east was about to pull out of the depot, George F. Mussmann had just lifted a box into the express car, and as he turned to leave, he fell to the walk and gave one or two gasps and was dead. Mr. Mussmann was about sixty years old, and an uncle of Henry Mussmann. He was a soldier, having enlisted in Pennsylvania at the first call, and served through the war. He was a carpenter by trade and one of Dakota's pioneers, living - - in the Territory about fifteen years, during which time he has accumulated considerable property. His remains were interred here Saturday with G. A. R. honors.

These two obituaries mention a nephew, Henry C. Mussmann who was a prominent citizen of Chamberlain, SD during the time of George's death. Abundant information has been found concerning Henry C. Mussmann's family including two biographies which mention his father, William Mussmann (1809-1899), as being born in Germany and coming to America in 1848, obituaries for Henry, his wife, and some of his children, as well as birth and marriages records from Brule Co., SD. This mention of the relationship between George F. Musselman / Mussmann and Henry C. Mussman is confusing due to the evidence showing George F. being born in Northampton Co., PA, not in Germany and the difference in ages of George F. Musselman

and William Mussman who would supposedly have been brothers. There is a possibility that this relationship was assumed by the author(s) of these obituaries due to the similarity between their last names and Henry C. Mussman being a notable citizen of that city.

Another exiting discovery by Mom and Dad was the marriage record in Sioux City for a Chauncey Musselman and Myrtle Buchanan in November of 1891. (Pay attention, closely, for it gets bumpy from here.) This Chauncey Musselman was discovered to be another child of George F. Musselman and Ann Topping. I initially thought his name was Charles as taken from the 1860 Wayne County Census, and some confusion was present as to the age of the real Charles Musselman when reviewing his marriage record to Emma Christanson. His age didn't match up with his age in the 1860 Census, he appeared to be ten years younger than we thought. I assumed that he had possibly lied about his age at the time of the marriage, or an error had been made.

But, come to find out..........Charles really was born ten years later in 1863, and that Chauncey Musselman was the one born in 1853-54, after all! Now the question is…Was he born in Marion, Wayne Co., NY like his marriage records says, or more logically in Albany, NY as other records suggest?

George William and Joseph Henry Musselman

To add to all of this Charles Musselman confusion, a land record was found in Turner Co., SD for a Charles S. Musselman who homestead land in 1871-72 adjacent to George Franklin Musselman. George Franklin Musselman was witness to Charles S. Musselman’s proving up in 1874, which stated that Charles S. was single and over the age of twenty one. This Charles S. Musselman, I assume, can’t be George Franklin’s son, for his son Charles would only have been about nineteen years old in 1874. Maybe Charles S. Musselman is George Franklin’s brother. Or Charles S. Musselman is really Chauncey.

There is even more confusing facts which surround these Charles’s and Chauncey’s. A Charles Musselman was located in a Sioux Falls, SD City Directory which stated that he was “from Sioux City” and was a painter boarding at the “Avenue House”.

Hmmm? Some mysteries continue!

Also during this year, I have had delightful contact with cousin Mary Jane (Luce) Karls and her daughters Mary Ann and Barbara. Mary Jane is the daughter of Goldie Musselman and Bart Luce. I have shared our Musselman family tree information and pictures with her and she was quite elated with the pictures that I had of her mother, several of which were provided by Vera (Musselman) Saris and her daughter Donna (Saris) Eye. Mary Jane desired enlargements of several of the photos, and I was happy to oblige.

Along this same Luce family line, I met Jeanette (Luce) Saulnier, of Murrieta, CA, at the Omaha Airport, this summer. I have been corresponding with Jeanette since Mom and Dad bumped into her in the Lemars Public Library back in 1998. It was quite a coincidence when Dad and Jeanette discovered that they both had an Aunt Goldie, who turned out to be the same woman. Jeanette was on her way to a Harrison family reunion in Hinton, IA when I met her plane from California at the Omaha Airport. It was a great, but short, visit as I helped her and her daughter, Linda, from the baggage claim to their rental car.

Continual correspondence was maintained throughout the year with Larry Musselman, his sister Mary Terrice Loiacano and her daughter Eileen; Vera Saris and her daughter Donna; Pam Johnson, and Denise Kapuniai. Larry Musselman has been into the family tree kick, this year. He has emailed many nice photographs to me, from his box of family archives,

particularly some handwritten notes by Thomas Barr about his family which will be mentioned later in this newsletter.

The Reids – Excellent progress was made, this year, in tracing further back into our Reid family history. Cousin Mike Thorstad found and contacted living descendants of Joseph Reid (1843-1917), Frances “Ruth” (Reid) Napper of Kansas City, and her daughter Frances Ruth “Fritz” (Napper) Wholf of Pagosa Springs, CO.

Ruth and Fritz have been vital in providing additional clues for tracing our Reid line farther back. From the military record of Joseph Reid, Fritz was provided the hint that the John Reid family was residing in Miami County, Ohio during the 1860’s, not the adjacent county of Montgomery that we had been searching in.

With this lead, we have been able to locate the John and Nancy Reid family in the 1850 and 1860 Censuses for Concord Township, Miami County, Ohio . These records revealed six additional children of John and Nancy Reid that we knew existed, but didn’t know the names of. Besides the five children that we knew of, Henry, William, John C., Joseph, and Mary Ann; there are Mariah, Isaiah, Esther, Phebe, Halstead, and Sarah.

Joseph Reid

1843-1917

Civil War Veteran

With additional research on the Internet, we were able to track down an index of existing marriage records for these four new daughters of John and Nancy Reid, the marriage record for Joseph Reid’s first marriage, a guardianship probate record for Henry Reid’s wife Sarah Ann Replogle, and the possibility of John Reid having a second wife. All of these records have been obtained from a friend of mine in the Miami County, Ohio area, who was very nice in looking them up for us. More treasures are yet to be discovered in Miami County, Ohio!

This connection with the descendants of Joseph Reid resulted in an unexpected treat in the form of a journal that he kept while serving in Co. K & L of the 8th Ohio Cav. and also in Co. K of the 44th Ohio Infantry, during the Civil War. The journal is eloquently written as it describes the conditions in which they fought, the landscapes, the weather conditions, and even the attitudes of the people during this time in American history.

Another very, delightful contact was with two cousins, brother and sister, on the Reid branch of our tree. Dale O. Edwards and his sister Kathryn (Edwards) Dougherty are grandchildren of Mary Ann Reid, youngest child of John and Nancy Reid, and her husband William Jefferson Edwards. Dale and Kathryn were born in Page County, Iowa and now live in Hastings, NE with their spouses, Nancy Edwards and Lester Dougherty, respectively.

Henry Reid and Sarah Ann Replogle

They have been enthusiastic and very, generous since my first meeting them early in the year. Kathryn discovered some lovely old pictures in her basement which included the unexpected find of a photograph of Henry Reid and his wife Sarah Replogle! It is certainly a treasure! With additional research and contributions from Kathryn and Lester, I’ve compiled a family history book for them and their children.

Nancy Ann (Marks) Reid

1803-1889

A sister to my GG Grandfather Charles I. Reid was Sarah Elizabeth Reid. Sarah married David Ewing Bute, who was, as well as his father, a prominent citizen and farmer of Morton Township in Page County, Iowa. With the help of Page County History books, I was able to locate a grandson of David E. and Sarah Bute who is living near Omaha in Fremont, NE. His name is David Ewing Bute II and he has been of tremendous assistance to archiving our Reid family history.

Dave’s mother, Cecil (Houser) Bute, was a genealogist, too. She had compiled a wealth of information about her line of Buckners as well as the Butes and Reids. The greatest treasure, to me, that Dave was able to provide was a photograph of Nancy Marks, the wife of John Reid, Sr. If I had never expected to find a photo of Henry Reid, I certainly hadn’t expected to find one of his mother, Nancy!

Other photos in Dave’s collection include ones of George Sherman Reid and his wife Eleanora Weller, David E. Bute and Sarah E. Reid, and J. R. Ubil and his wife Nellie Drake. (Eleanora Weller and her aunt, Nellie Drake were raised by David E. Bute’s parents, William M. and Eleanor Bute.)

The George Sherman Reid Family

Eleanora Weller, George Sherman,

and son Irvin Burdette Reid.

On the William Reid branch of the tree, I’ve talked with Joan Kingsolver of Fremont Co., Iowa. Her husband, Kenneth Reid Kingsolver (1922-1984) was the son of Leona Reid and John Kingsolver. Leona Reid (1899-1970) was a daughter of Charles E. Reid (1872-1916) and a granddaughter of William Reid (1830-1878). I compiled some Reid family tree information for Joan and her family, and she had promised to look for some Reid family info and photos for us.

I have also had contact with a woman from Centralia, Illinois, Jerri George, who has connections with the Henry Clay Coy family of Page and Fremont Counties in Iowa. William Reid’s granddaughter, Lodema Pearl Reid married Loren E. Coy of Fremont Co., Iowa in Henderson, Box Butte Co., Nebraska in 1919. Lodema’s parents, Alfred I. and Vinona (Spangler) Reid moved out there from Farragut, Fremont Co., Iowa in about 1918.

Jerri has provided me additional information about the Coy family and lead me to discover that

Loren E. and Lodema Coy had divorced prior to Loren’s death in Glenwood, Mills Co., Iowa in 1955. It still remains to be found what happened to Lodema and who their children are / were and where they were divorced.

The two brothers, William and John C. Reid, married two girls from the Charles W. Viner family in Muscatine Co., Iowa. Emma M. and Eliza M. Viner were born in England and came to America in 1854 settling with their parents in Muscatine Co., Iowa. John C. Reid married Eliza in 1863 and William Reid married Emma in 1865. We have found some records of the Viners in Muscatine and Louise Counties in Iowa, and I’ve recently had contact with a living descendant of Emma and Eliza’s brother, Charles W. Viner, Jr. Margy Kersten of Wausau, WI is researching her Viner ancestry and has shared what she has, so far, with us. I look forward to hearing more from Margy, in the near future.

Arthur E. Reid and Margaret Krier

And neither the least nor the last is email correspondence with Alan Reid of Eden Prairie, MN. Al is a grandson of Vyner Reid (1918-1986), son of Arthur E. Reid (1881-Unk.), son of John C. Reid (1841-1917). Al has provided us with some direct lineage information of Arthur E. Reid’s family. Vyner Reid’s wife, Margaret E. Joern, is anticipated as being a wealthy source of additional information and photos of this branch of our Reid tree. Al is very, interested in his family’s history, but is a busy man. I feel that Al is going to be able to contribute more as time goes on.

As before, continued correspondence has been maintained with Brenda Gens, Carol English,

Melva Persinger, Marjorie Church and siblings, and Michael Thorstad.

The Barrs - As mentioned, previously, Larry Musselman found, in his possession, handwritten notes made by Thomas Barr concerning birth, death, and marriage dates of several members of his family, some of whom are new to us.

Valuable information from this record included the names of three people that I believe to be siblings of Thomas: Hannah 1820-1844, Nancy b: 1821, and George 1828-1850; birth and death dates for his parents, Robert and Mary Barr; and some younger people Hannah S. Barr 1858-1862, and another Robert Barr 1861-1861.

This record was also able to confirm that Thomas Barr had three wives, not two as previously thought and cleared up some confusing issues. His first wife being Anngelina Lemmon 1830-1857 of whom William G., Mary E., and Flora A. were born; then Elizabeth Lemmon 1821-1882 of whom Daniel N. Barr was born; and then my GG Grandmother Charlotte Smithers, Taber, Barr 1837-1930.

All of this information was of great interest and value to Grace (Barr) Wheeler, our half-cousin and fellow Barr family researcher, from Massachusetts. Grace has been a longtime correspondent of mine and Uncle Duane’s since the 1980’s. We have shared our information about our common Barr family lines. Grace has just recently sent me some fantastic photos of her Aaunts Edith, Fern, and Diona Barr.

Harry B. and Fern (Barr) Springer

The Tabers - Before she married Thomas Barr, Charlotte Smithers (1837-1930) married John Taber in 1856 in Ontario, Canada. John and Charlotte had eight children together, settled in Redwood Co., MN, and according to a birth record found in Blue Earth Co., MN, they had a ninth child named in the record as Notta Taber who’s also known as Nettie Barr.

Aunt Nettie was born in 1875 and story has it that she moved with Charlotte Smithers and Thomas Barr to Sioux City, Iowa where in January 1879 Thomas and Charlotte were married and their daughter Hattie Barr was born that same month.

John Taber

1823-1907

I have had valuable correspondence with Faythe King of Redwood Falls, MN. Faythe is a descendant of John and Charlotte Taber via their daughter Emma S. Taber and her husband Joseph Bunting. We have shared our information with each other which has provided both of us with interesting insights to our common Taber lines.

Faythe has provided us with a wonderful photograph of John Taber and one of Charlotte Smithers as a younger woman than the photographs we had already seen. These photos are featured in the county museum in Redwood Falls. Faythe is actively pursuing her research of this Taber line, and has even found some information in Ontario, Canada concerning the baptisms of three of John and Charlottes’ children, there. She has also been able to bring us further up to date on the younger generations of the John Taber line.

Another recent contact of the Taber lineage is Ann McNeal, of Madison, WI, who is a descendant of Charlotte L. Taber and her husband Rufus Picket. Ann and I have only briefly corresponded, but I anticipate further exchange of information in the near future.

Charlotte (Smithers) Taber, Barr

1837-1930

The Babcocks – A few more clues about our Babcock lineage was discovered, this year. From an article printed in a Page County, Iowa newspaper in 1911 about Sarah Jane Babcock, along with her granddaughter Miss Reid, visiting her nephew, Isaac N. Bunting of Coin, Iowa. From this statement, I have concluded that Isaac N. Bunting’s mother, Eliza, must be a sister to Sarah Jane (Stine) Babcock’s husband, John V. Babcock. Further research revealed similar birth places and common migration destinations. Additional hunting is required for positive confirmation.

In August, I prepared a family tree booklet for Vic Babcock of Sioux City. He is a descendant of John V. Babcock, too. Vic enjoyed the information and pictures in the booklet and provided some information on his immediate family to me, in return.

From the Internet, I found hint of an Ida Babcock who married a George Dawson in Page County, Iowa around 1900. It was both his and her second marriages. They supposedly had a daughter together and later moved to Minnesota. At the time, I was inclined to think that this was our Ida Babcock.

Our Ida J. Babcock, daughter of John V. and Sarah J. Babcock, married E. J. Hookham in 1886 in Page Co., Iowa. I found their marriage record and

confirmed this, as well as their divorce record in October of 1900 in Page Co., Iowa. They had three children at the time, Robert, Earl, and Myrtle.

I then located the marriage record for George Dawson age 21 and Ida J. Hookham age 18 on December 4, 1900 in Page Co., Iowa. This record does not correspond with the age of our Ida J. (Babcock) Hookham who was born in 1871.

Another confusing item regarding these same names is that a Nellie Dawson was born on February 7, 1901 in nearby Fremont Co., Iowa, to George Dawson and “Ada” Babcock, just two months after the marriage mentioned before.

It is still unknown as to the final whereabouts of our Ida J. (Babcock) Hookham after her divorce to E. J. Hookham.

The Stines – During the past two years, we have collected some information about John V. Babcock’s wife’s family, the Stines. Census and other records have recently lead us from Page Co., Iowa back to Jasper and Marion Co., Iowa, and further back to Orange Co., IN and into Kentucky.

Sarah Jane (Stine) Babcock

1838-1918

A woman named Beverly from Texas, contacted me with a connection to our John Stine family. She is a descendant of his son, Charles Stine, Sarah Jane’s brother. We have shared our Stine family files, and intend to collaborate more in the near future.