Tombstone Tuesday - Milton and Josephine Morrow Jacks

My great great aunt and uncle, Milton and Josephine Morrow Jacks and their daughters, Maude and Ora.

Tombstone Tuesday - Ella Jacks Adams

Today I am sharing the gravesite and story of my great great grandmother, Ella Jacks Adams.  Her beautiful tombstone stands in the Sabina Cemetery, Sabina, Ohio.

Her obituary reads:

Obituary

“So live that when thy summons comes to join that innumerable throng which moves to that mysterious realm, that thou mayst be sustained by an unfaltering trust, and approach they grave like one who wraps the drapery of his covers about him and lies down to pleasant dreams.”
Such was the life lived and the departure from this world of Ella Adams, daughter of Eli and Nancy Jacks. She was born in Sabina, O, Sept. 4, 1862 and departed this life February 9, 1902, aged 39 years, 5 month, and 5 days.
During her girl life and young womanhood she was the light of the family. Her ever joyous disposition shed a halo of gladness about her and she was ever the solace and comforter of an afflicted mother.
On February 13, 1884, she was happily united in marriage to Henry Adams. To this union were born five children, two of which in infancy preceded her to the spirit world.
On March 3, 1890, under the ministration of Rev. S. S. Fleming, she was happily converted to God, and from thence lived a worthy, consistent, Christian life.
At the institution of the camp of Royal Neighbors in Sabina, she was one of its charter members. The emblems of the order, faith, modesty, courage, unselfishness, and endurance were compatible with her nature and were faithfully practiced. Her love for the order and its members was ardent, and sadly will she be missed in the council of the camp.
Just previous to her departure, she called her relatives around her and bade each an affectionate farewell, assuring them of her bright prospect of heaven and desiring all to so live as to meet her there.
She leaves father, mother, husband, children, sister, and brother to mourn the loss of a dutious daughter, as affectionate wife, a doting mother and a loving and obliging sister, and the community a valued neighbor.
The funeral was held in the M.P. Church, Wednesday forenoon, sermon by Rev. W.J. Elliott, and burial services in charge of the Royal Neighbors. Interment in the Sabina cemetery.

Also printed in the newspaper was the following resolution:

I don't know what illness took my great great grandmother from her family at such a young age, but I do know from these writings just how much she was loved.  I think her tombstone is one of the most beautiful I have seen and I'm glad to have been given the opportunity to know her through the words of those who knew her so well.

Tombstone Tuesday - Eli and Nancy Pike Jacks

Today's Tombstone Tuesday photograph is the gravesite of my paternal 3rd great grandparents, Eli and Nancy Pike Jacks. Their burial site is located in Sabina Cemetery, Sabina, Clinton County, Ohio.

Eli is the son of Elkanah and Catherine Bennett Doan Jacks and Nancy is the daughter of Nathan and Hannah Pike.  

Tombstone Tuesday - Catherine Bennett Doan Jacks

Today I am sharing the gravesite of my paternal 4th great grandmother, Catherine Bennett Doan Jacks.  The tombstone is located in the Sabina Cemetery, Sabina, Clinton County, Ohio.   The poem on the bottom of the stone reads, "Mother, thou art gone to rest. We must not weep for thee, For now thou art where oft on earth Thy spirit longed to be."

Catherine was the daughter of Timothy and Elizabeth Hoblit Bennett. She was born in Woodford County Kentucky on 15 March, 1795, but in 1800 the family moved to Warren County, Ohio.  In 1801, the Bennett's became the first settlers in Union Township, Clinton County, Ohio.  On 23 September, 1813, she was married to Joseph Doan and they lived for awhile in Indiana before settling on the "McClintock Farm in Richland Township, Clinton County, Ohio and before Joseph's untimely death on 2 September, 1825, she had given birth to 5 children.  On 7 May, 1829, she was married to my 4th great grandfather, Elkanah Jacks, in Clinton County.  They had 4 children, Eli, (my 3rd great grandfather) Silas, Phoebe, and Isaac. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Search Engines!

Not long after I got married, about 28 years ago, I found a bound "family history" book at a discount store here in town. I thought it was one of the greatest things I had ever seen. It started with a record of our marriage, and then it took my husband and me through each of our family trees. I was pretty lucky. I knew the names of my parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. For many people, that is a lot of information. But, after I filled out those names and what dates I knew, I still had quite a few blank spots to fill. Back then, my resources were pretty limited as to where I could find further information. I remember asking my paternal grandmother about her lineage and she told me her grandmother was a "Jacks". She couldn't remember much more.

Fast forward to 2002 and the availability of a myriad of resources on the internet and genealogy CD-rom programs.

I don't enjoy driving and I'm limited to the amount of time I can actually research outside my home, so the internet has been my lifeline to my family history research.

I was able to find out from my aunt that my 2nd great grandmother's first name was "Ella". So, armed with the knowledge that I had an ancestor named "Ella Jacks" I headed for my free trial membership at one of the first genealogy websites. Lo and behold, I found her with her husband , Eli, and her father and mother in law, Elkanah and Catherine Jacks. They were living in Sabina, Clinton County, Ohio, so I knew for sure it was them. Now, I had more names to search, but the census records gave me only so much info.

I headed for the message boards, trying to link up with distant "Jacks" cousins. In short order, I began to discover the entire "Jacks" family tree.

At that point, search engines became even more valuable. Searching for an uncommon name like "Elkanah" seemed like it had some very good potential for return. I wasn't disappointed. I discovered that Heritage Pursuit had several vintage history books, printed, in full, online. In The History of Clinton County, Ohio, by Beers, 1882, I found a particularly interesting story.

from the History of Clinton County, 1882
HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP.
BY THOMPSON DOUGLASS.
Mrs. Catharine Jacks came into the township in 1818. She was born in Woodford County, Ky., March 15, 1795, and died in Richland Township June 25, 1880. She was the daughter of Timothy and Betsey (Hoblit) Bennett, who moved to Warren County in 1800, and to Clinton County in 1801, where they located on a farm east of Wilmington. Catharine married Joseph Doan in September, 1813, and moved with him to Indiana, where they remained until 1818, when they came to Richland Township, settling on the McClintock farm where Mr. Doan died September 2, 1825, leaving seven children. On the 7th of May, 1826, Mrs. Doan married Elkanah Jacks, by whom she had five children. Her first husband came to Richland Township from North Carolina in 1810.

Mrs. Doan married Elkanah Jacks. Okay. Catherine was married once before she married Elkanah. Check. And she was the daughter of Timothy Bennett and Betsey Hoblit. HOME RUN! Two more names, two more ancestors.

The next thing I found, IN THE SAME BOOK was this paragraph:

Union Township-Timothy Bennet is credited with being the first to locate a home within the limits of what is now Union Township, having settled east of the site of Wilmington in the month of March, 1801. No other family arrived for over two years, or until the fall of 1803, when George Haworth became the second settler in the township.

What? My 5th great grandfather was the FIRST settler in Union Township, Clinton County, Ohio. Hey, doesn't that qualify me to be a member of The First Families of Clinton County?

Guess I had better join the genealogical society there. (Which I soon did!)

I found Timothy and Betsey's children in history books in Tazewell County, IL, which led me to finding their gravesites on findagrave.com.

You see how it works? Sometimes, you have to get creative in the manner in which you search, but you won't find anything unless you look for it! Seek and Ye Shall Find!