Grave of George W WELLS,Vaught Cemetery, Mountainburg, Crawford, Arkansas
Courtesy of findagrave.com
For the last few months I've focused most of my research energy on my father's tree, hoping to find new clues so I can identify more of my DNA matches. I've been trying to fill in more of my side branches to locate living cousins, and also hope to identify more distant common ancestors by breaking down some of my "brick walls". Although I haven't succeeded in identifying any more DNA connections, I have uncovered some new and potential paternal relatives.
It is not uncommon to find very large families in past generations. We also know that infant mortality was much higher in the past than it is today. And most of us have discovered that some families are hit harder by life than others. But I recently found an extreme example within the lives of a single family that seems to me to be both unbearable and very unfair. I think you'll agree. The tragic reality of their circumstances really brought home to me the magnitude of life's hardships the some had to bear not that many generations ago.
My great-great-aunt Nancy C ORRICK (1843-1904) and her husband George W WELLS (1842-1913) were both born in Arkansas, and married there in Crawford County on New Years Day 1860. Hopes would have been high for a bright new year and a bright new future together. George was a farmer, willing to work to support his family. By the end of that year their first daughter Malissa was born, followed by a son George in July 1862. By that time the Civil War was well underway, and their fortune was about to turn.
On 10 Mar 1863, George enlisted as a Private in Company H of the 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Mounted Rifles. Less than two weeks later on Mar 22, their daughter Malissa died, quickly followed by the death of George Jr on April 3, 1863. Nancy was left on her own to mourn the loss of her two children and worry about her husband who had gone off to war.
It is not uncommon to find very large families in past generations. We also know that infant mortality was much higher in the past than it is today. And most of us have discovered that some families are hit harder by life than others. But I recently found an extreme example within the lives of a single family that seems to me to be both unbearable and very unfair. I think you'll agree. The tragic reality of their circumstances really brought home to me the magnitude of life's hardships the some had to bear not that many generations ago.
My great-great-aunt Nancy C ORRICK (1843-1904) and her husband George W WELLS (1842-1913) were both born in Arkansas, and married there in Crawford County on New Years Day 1860. Hopes would have been high for a bright new year and a bright new future together. George was a farmer, willing to work to support his family. By the end of that year their first daughter Malissa was born, followed by a son George in July 1862. By that time the Civil War was well underway, and their fortune was about to turn.
On 10 Mar 1863, George enlisted as a Private in Company H of the 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Mounted Rifles. Less than two weeks later on Mar 22, their daughter Malissa died, quickly followed by the death of George Jr on April 3, 1863. Nancy was left on her own to mourn the loss of her two children and worry about her husband who had gone off to war.
After the Civil War ended, George was discharged on 10 Aug 1865 at Fort Smith Arkansas with disabilities (middle ear inflammation and cataracts in both eyes are listed). Once reunited with his wife they continued to produce many more children between 1866 and 1886. According to the 1900 US census when Nancy was 56, she reported a total of 14 children, but only 3 were still living. Really!
I know the names of 13 out of their 14 children. The following ten names died as infants or children:
Only three of their children survived to adulthood. In the 1900 census only 2 teenage children were living at home: Benjamin WELLS (age 17) and James F WELLS (age 14). An older son Frank Marion WELLS (age 23, he went by his middle name Marion) was living next door, already married to his wife Violet (SMITH) with two young daughters of his own. In years to follow, they had at least three more children. Benjamin married Annie PRATER in Oct 1900 and they had at least twelve children. He lived to be age 82. I haven't yet found additional information about James. So descendants of George and Nancy WELLS do exist, although not nearly as many as you would expect from so large a family. [See below for further information on Marion and James.]
- 1863: Malisa A (age 2) and George A (infant)
- 1866: Andrews J (infant)
- 1868: Sarah E (infant)
- 1871: William D (age 1)
- 1882: John Wesley (age 14), Robert R (age 10), Mahala Rena (age 6), Fairy May (age 1)
- 1885: Dement (infant)
Only three of their children survived to adulthood. In the 1900 census only 2 teenage children were living at home: Benjamin WELLS (age 17) and James F WELLS (age 14). An older son Frank Marion WELLS (age 23, he went by his middle name Marion) was living next door, already married to his wife Violet (SMITH) with two young daughters of his own. In years to follow, they had at least three more children. Benjamin married Annie PRATER in Oct 1900 and they had at least twelve children. He lived to be age 82. I haven't yet found additional information about James. So descendants of George and Nancy WELLS do exist, although not nearly as many as you would expect from so large a family. [See below for further information on Marion and James.]
Nancy died at the age of 60 in Apr 1904 in Winfrey, Crawford County, Arkansas, no doubt heartbroken and worn down by at least 14 pregnancies and the lost of so many children. She is buried in Vaught Cemetery in Mountainburg but her grave is unmarked. In Nov 1906 her widowed husband George moved to a home for disabled volunteer soldiers in Leavenworth Kansas. He discharged himself the following April, and returned to Arkansas. George died on 25 Jan 1913 in Van Buren and is buried in Vaught Cemetery in Mountainburg. The following story about his gravestone (shown above) is from his wife Nancy's memorial on findagrave.com:
George had been terribly injured in the Civil War. When [his] descendant ... discovered he had no tombstone, she and her sister obtained one through the VA since he was a Civil War veteran. The caretaker and others helped them place it in Vaught Cemetery; this was about 1972.
They had such a VERY hard life. I try to put myself in their shoes and fail miserably although I have a ton of empathy for their suffering. By comparison, many of our other problems look almost trivial. Quite the perspective adjustment! We are so very fortunate to have modern medicines and access to health services, along with a much higher standard of living and greater leisure time. So the next time I catch myself grumbling about something, I'll need to remember George and Nancy and their life of real hardship. No contest!
Update 6 July 2016:
George and Nancy's son Francis Marion WELLS (aka Frank or Marion) moved his family to Missouri sometime between 1910 and 1918 when he was drafted into WWI. They lived for many years in Kansas City MO where he worked as an express driver and a real estate salesman. In 1942 he was drafted once again. Marion died in 1945 at the age of 67, 10 years after his wife Violet, and they are both buried in the Mount Washington Cemetery in Independence Missouri. Of their five known children, one died as a child.
George and Nancy's youngest known son James F "Jim" WELLS may have died in Arkansas in 1907 when he was 21. His grave is apparently listed on page 442 in the 2nd Edition of "History in Headstones" for Crawford County, Arkansas, although the contents of this book are not available online. If true, then Jim was the 12th child of George and Nancy WELLS to die much too young.
Update 6 July 2016:
George and Nancy's son Francis Marion WELLS (aka Frank or Marion) moved his family to Missouri sometime between 1910 and 1918 when he was drafted into WWI. They lived for many years in Kansas City MO where he worked as an express driver and a real estate salesman. In 1942 he was drafted once again. Marion died in 1945 at the age of 67, 10 years after his wife Violet, and they are both buried in the Mount Washington Cemetery in Independence Missouri. Of their five known children, one died as a child.
George and Nancy's youngest known son James F "Jim" WELLS may have died in Arkansas in 1907 when he was 21. His grave is apparently listed on page 442 in the 2nd Edition of "History in Headstones" for Crawford County, Arkansas, although the contents of this book are not available online. If true, then Jim was the 12th child of George and Nancy WELLS to die much too young.
More information is available on Claudia's ORRICK & DYER paternal lines
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