This timeline has a lot of detailed information. If you see an error, I would appreciate it if you bring it to my attention. If you have anything you would like to add to Malissa’s timeline or life story, feel free to share in the comment section below or drop me a line.
© Robin Slicker, 2018. All Rights Reserve.
This is the third part of a three-part series. If you would like to read the first two parts before reading part three, just click the following links. Part 1: Malissa Mansfield Slicker: Living in an Always Changing World – Part 1 . Part 2: Malissa Mansfield Slicker: Living in an Always Changing World – Part 2 .
The First Few Years in Washington Township, Westmoreland County
On October 21, 1914, Malissa and John sold their property in Conemaugh township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania for one thousand dollars.[1] According to this deed, they had already made their move to Washington township, Westmoreland County where they would spend their remaining years. Two days after selling the property in Conemaugh, John and Malissa agreed to pay three hundred dollars for a property on Brick Road (present-day Thorn Street) in Washington Township.[2] Their new home would become a part of the borough of Oklahoma in 1931.
On January 25th, 1917 Malissa’s mother, Nancy, after suffering from pneumonia for about a month, passed away at the home of Malissa’s oldest daughter, Ruth Hardwick.[3] Ruth’s home was on Brick Road in Washington Township. After they buried Nancy at the Apollo Cemetery, her husband, Samuel Haney, moved to Ohio where his and Nancy’s two sons, James and Samuel, were living with their family. Nearly one year later, Samuel passed away at a hospital in Cleveland.[4] Samuel’s sons brought him home to Pennsylvania and laid him to rest next to his wife, Nancy.
The year between the death of her mother and step-father must have been a tough one for Malissa. One marked with sadness as Malissa’s sister, Matilda Belle Owens, passed away five months after the loss of their mother. Matilda was laid to rest in the Vandergrift Cemetery.[5] In a single year, the Haney/Mansfield family had dwindled from seven to four. Those remaining were Malissa, her two half-brothers, James and Samuel of Ohio, and her half-sister, Jennie Taylor, who was living in Pittsburgh.
Malissa’s World Continues to Change
The 1920’s brought economic prosperity and great political and cultural change. This era, marked by Prohibition, also saw the passage of the nineteenth amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. As women gained more rights and more freedom, an increasing number of them entered the workforce. A growing number of household inventions that included the electric washing machine, the refrigerator, vacuum cleaners, and ready-to-wear clothes help to make adjusting to this new wage-earning lifestyle easier.
Despite these cultural changes, there was one cultural norm that still held strong – that of families living close to one another. And so, we find John and Ruth Hardwick and their four children, Albert and Matilda Slicker Seighman and their three children, George M. And Bessie E. Slicker and their two children, and Samuel and Ethel Hardwick Slicker and their five children and Ethel’s and John’s mother, Violet Hardwick, living on Brick Road near John and Malissa. Fred Manners, John’s and Malissa’s adopted son was living with John and Malissa.[6] John and Malissa’s son, Frank was living with his wife, Estella, and their five children across the river in the borough of Apollo.[7]
But even the cultural norm of families living close together was slowly changing as family members moved across the country seeking employment. Both James and George with their families moved to West Allis, Milwuakee County, Wisconsin by 1921.[8] Here they would pass many years. William Eugene was living as a boarder in Cleveland, Ward 16 and working as a steelworker.[9] His mother’s half-brother, Samuel Haney, was living nearby in Ward 20.[10] William’s wife, Lela, and his six-month old son, Eugene, were living with Lela’s parents on the west side of Warren Avenue in Apollo, Pennsylvania.[11]
Malissa’s Personal Loss
To the world 1929 marked the end of the Roaring Twenties and the beginning of the greatest economic depression. To Malissa and her family this year was marked with great personal loss – John passed away on July 31st, only five and half months before he and Malissa would have celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary. John was laid to rest on August 3rd in the Vandergrift cemetery.[12]
Despite her loss, Malissa’s home was not an empty one. Malissa’s adopted son, Fred Manners, continued to live with her, and her daughter, Matilda and Matilda’s husband and children had moved into the home. And her son, Samuel J. and his family lived nearby.[13]
Malissa Sells Her Property
On July 8th, 1937 Malissa sold the property she and Samuel purchased in 1914 to her daughter, Matilda, and her son-in-law, Albert Seighman, for a sum of three hundred dollars. Malissa reserved the right to use the property for and during her natural life.[14] On May 2nd, 1938 Matilda, Albert and Malissa took out a mortgage with the Apollo Trust Company for the sum of five hundred dollars. They had agreed to pay twenty dollars a month plus six percent annual interest. They debt was repaid in full on August 11th, 1943.[15]
Malissa’s Final Day
After suffering from pneumonia during a two-week period, Malissa Jane Mansfield Slicker died of a cerebral hemorrhage. It was September 8th, 1946,[16] exactly eighty-two years from the date the Department of Interior had accepted as her father’s, John Mansfield’s date of death.
Summary of Malissa’s Life
In her eighty-eight years, five months and five days of life, Malissa had lived through many changes, personally, socially, politically and culturally. She began life in Elizabeth, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. During her lifetime she moved four times. From Elizabeth she moved with her mother, father and siblings to Webster, Westmoreland County. As a young, married woman, she moved with her husband, her mother, step-father and siblings to Apollo, Armstrong County. Malissa and her family passed thirteen years in this small community that lies along the Kiskiminetas River. In 1895 Malissa and John moved their family to a property located a little north of Saltsburg, Indiana County. Her mother and step-father settled in Saltsburg. Then in 1914, the family made one last move. John and Malissa purchased a property on Brick Road in Washington Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. This address would one day become Thorn Street in Oklahoma Borough.
As a young child, Malissa lost her father, John Mansfield, and her sister, Anna. As a married woman, she purchased and sold three properties, a right denied to married women before 1848. She gave birth to eight children and raised seven of them. She lost her first child, Milford, shortly after he was born and her second son, Frank, died before she did. In 1902 or 1903, Malissa and her husband, John, adopted Fred Manners.
Malissa was born a few years before the start of a war that temporarily divided her country, and she died shortly after the end of another war that had divided many nations of the world. She lived through prosperous times like the Roaring Twenties and endured challenging times like the Great Depression. In 1946, she left it all behind and was laid to rest next to her husband in the Vandergrift Cemetery, in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
You can visit Malissa’s memorial at: Melissa Mansfield Slicker’s Find-A-Grave Memorial
Should you want to add something to Malissa’s story, see an error in the facts I’ve presented, or just want to comment on the post, use the comment section below.
Sources:
[1] Indiana County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 140:164, Malissa J. and John Slicker to David Kellerman, 10 December 1895; Recorder of Deeds Office, Indiana.
[2] Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 554:137, John Orr Chambers to John Slicker, 23 October 1914; Recorder of Deeds Office, Greensburg
[3] Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate 445 (1917), Nancy Haney, Division of Vital Records, New Castle.
[4] Ohio Department of Health, death certificate 1256 (1918), Samuel Haney, Division of Vital Statistics, Columbus, Ohio.
[5] Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1964, database-online, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 January 2018), entry for Matilda Owens, death certificate 51204, citing 1917 death.
[6] “1920 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25, July 2017), entry for John Slicker Family (3 members), Washington Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Note: Check the entries before and after John’s household including those that follow at the top of the next image to see how one family household was located to the others.
[7] 1920 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28, January 2018), entry for Frank Slicker, Apollo, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
[8] Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1882-1995, on-line database, (http://www.ancestry.com accessed 28, January 2018), entry for James Slicker, West Allis, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Note: His brother George’s name, appears two lines above his name.
[9] 1920 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28, January 2018), entry for William Slicker, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
[10] United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28, January 2018), entry for Samuel Haney, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
[11] 1920 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28, January 2018), entry for Lela Slicker, Apollo, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
[12] Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate 77663 (1929), John Slicker, Division of Vital Records, New Castle.
[13] 1930 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28, January 2018), entry for Malissa Slicker, Washington, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
[14] Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 1013:390, Malissa J. Slicker to Albert G. and Matilda B. Seighman, 18 July 1937; Recorder of Deeds Office, Greensburg.
[15] Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Mortgage Book 558:83, Albert and Matilda Seighman and Malissa J. Slicker to the Apollo Trust Company, 2 May 1938; Recorder of Deeds Office, Greensburg.
[16] Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate 80354 (1946), Melissa Jane, Division of Vital Records, New Castle.
© Robin Slicker, 2018. All Rights Reserve.
This is part two of a three-part series on the life of Malissa Jane Mansfield. The beginning of part two retells the part of Malissa’s story when her father goes off to war. In the second paragraph I stated that John boarded a train for Harrisburg. I don’t really know if this is how John traveled to Harrisburg to be mustered into his regiment. He may have gone by foot or horse and wagon. Part two takes Malissa’s story to 1910. In 1910, the family was still living in Conemaugh township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. The three oldest children were married, and Malissa and John had three grandchildren. If you haven’t read part one of Malissa’s story and you would like to do so before reading part two, you may do so here: Malissa Mansfield Slicker: Living In An Always Changing World – Part 1
Malissa’s Father Goes to War
As she stood there next to her mother and sisters in the Fall of 1861 bidding her father farewell, it was highly probable that Malissa, at age three years and about eight months did not understand that her father was leaving for a long time. Maybe she heard something about a war? But what was a war? Was she scared, confused or indifferent? Could she sense from the adults around her this was not a joyous moment?
Did Malissa bid her father farewell at the front door of the family’s home? Or did she watch as her father boarded the train that would carry him to Harrisburg where he would be mustered into his company and regiment. Was this farewell moment the last time Malissa saw her father?
January 1st, 1864, Malissa’s father, John, reenlisted as a union soldier.[1] Three and half months later he was captured and taken prisoner during a major battle in North Carolina. Malissa’s father was held for four months in deplorable conditions in a Confederate prison in Andersonville, Georgia. At the end of those four months, he took his last breaths.[2]
Malissa was six years old when the heartbreaking news of John’s death reached the family in their wooden framed house in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. Her father had been gone for so long. Did she understand the news? Or had her father been gone so long that her memory of him had faded?
During the war years, Malissa’s mother managed to keep the household running without her husband. In the years following her husband’s death, she not only continued this role, but she also became the sole breadwinner. This new role would not be an easy one to fulfill as jobs outside of the home were still limited for women.
In the months following her husband’s death, Nancy submitted a widow’s application to the Pension Office in Washington, D.C. The application was approved. This gave Nancy eight more dollars a month to use for her and her children’s survival.[3]
As most widows of the Civil War did, Nancy remarried. She exchanged vows with Samuel Stewart Haney in the McKeesport home of H.L. Chapman, a Methodist minister. This wedding that took place on May 16th, 1866 marked another turning point in Malissa’s life.[4] With a step-father in the home, family life stood the possibility of becoming more stable.
Moving to Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
In the years leading up to 1870, Samuel and Nancy moved with their four daughters, Malissa, Matilda, Sarah and Eliza (daughters of Nancy and Samuel) to Webster, a small village resting on the west banks of the Monongahela River in Westmoreland county. Samuel found employment in a nearby sawmill.[5] Later he went to work in the coal mines. Nancy took care of the home and children. By 1876, that family had grown to include two sons, James and Samuel.[6]
Home of Samuel Haney in North Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Malissa Marries John Slicker
The family was living in a rented home on what was then called Center Street (presently known as Railroad Street).[7] They were just a short distance from the home of Malissa’s future husband, John Slicker. In January 1880 Malissa married John and moved to his home at the north end of Webster. About two weeks after their marriage, John and Malissa sold the property to John’s half-sister, Mary Steinogle.[8] They rented a house near Malissa’s parents and John’s half-sister, Eva and his brother-in-law, John Vogel.[9]
A few months after their marriage, John and Malissa learned they would soon be welcoming their first child into the family. Milford arrived during the cold, bitter snowy month of December. Whatever joy this new life gave his young parents was briefly lived. Milford was gone before the end of December.
The family grows
By 1882, John and Malissa had moved from Webster, Westmoreland County to Apollo, Armstrong County. Malissa’s mother and step-father also made the move. As 1882 was drawing to end, Malissa and John were welcoming their son, Frank Walton, to the family.[10] In the years following 1882, the family continued to grow. Their son, Samuel John (1885)[11], was the next to arrive. He was followed by Ruth Elizabeth (1887), George Mansfield (1889)[12], James Clifford (1891)[13], and Matilda Belle (1893)[14]. This growing family was giving a more stable home life when Malissa, exercising her right to own property as a married woman, agreed to pay three hundred and fifty dollars for a single lot in the borough of Apollo on August 30th, 1890.[15] She would exercise this right again on April 8th, 1895 when she purchased part of the lot next to the one she bought in 1890. She paid two hundred dollars for this lot. Eight months later Malissa purchased eight acres of land in Conemaugh Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.[16] A month before this buy, the property in Apollo was sold to Esther Owens for one thousand dollars.[17] A year after the property in Indiana County had been purchased, John and Malissa’s sixth son, William Eugene, was born.[18]
The Turn of the Century
At the turn of the century, John and his son, Frank, were working in the local rolling mill. Times were not easy as the 1900 Federal Census show that both John and Frank were unemployed eight months between July 1899 and June 1900. Malissa along with her son, Samuel, farmed a part of the family property.[19] Malissa’s mother and stepfather were living a short distance away in the borough of Saltsburg.[20]
John and Malissa in the 1900 U.S. Census – Conemaugh Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania
In the years after the turn of the century, Fred Manners joined the Slicker family. Although Fred had always used his family name Manners, the 1910 U.S. Federal Census listed Fred as an adopted son of John and Malissa.[21]
September 16th, 1905, Frank, the oldest son, married Estella Arnold. [22]Three years later, on September 8th, their son, Samuel married Ethel Hardwick. This same year, John and Malissa’s daughter, Ruth, married John G. Hardwick.[23] Ethel and John were siblings and, the daughter and son of George Hardwick and Violet Davis. The newly wedded couples settled in Conemaugh township. By 1910 Malissa and John had three grandchildren: James and Harold, sons of Frank and Estella, and Violet, daughter of Samuel and Ethel.
Sources:
[1]Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War with Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Fold3.com (http://www.Fold3.com: accessed 15 October 2017) entry for John Mansfield and minor child Melissa Jane Mansfield, page 8.
[2] Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War with Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Fold3.com (http://www.Fold3.com: accessed 15 October 2017) entry for John Mansfield and his widow Nancy Mansfield, page 33.
[3] Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War with Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Fold3.com (http://www.Fold3.com: accessed 15 October 2017) entry for John Mansfield and his widow Nancy Mansfield.
[4] Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War with Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Fold3.com (http://www.Fold3.com: accessed 3 January 2018) entry for John Mansfield and his widow Nancy Mansfield, page 17.
[5] “1870 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3, January 2018), entry for Samuel Haney (age 24), Webster, Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
[6] “1880 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3, January 2018), entry for Samuel Haney (age 34), Webster, Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
[7] Atlas of Westmoreland County, 1876 for Webster, PA, Reading Publisher Company, 1876.
[8] Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Deed Book 101:439-441, John Slicker and Malissa Slicker to Mary Stinogle, 28, January 1880; Recorder of Deeds, Greensburg.
[9] “1880 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3, January 2018), entry for John Slicker (age 23), Webster, Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
[10] Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania County Marriages, 1852-1973; County: Allegheny; Year Range: 1905-1906; Roll Number: 549836, database, Anccestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com/search/ : accessed 3 January 2018), entry for Frank Walton Slicker; citing Pennsylvania County Marriages, 1845-1963.
[11] Social Security Administration, “U.S. Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 7 January 2018), entry for Samuel Slicker, 1968, SS no. 193-03-7191.
[12] Social Security Administration, “U.S. Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 7 January 2018), entry for George Slicker, 1968, SS no. 389-07-3024.
[13] Social Security Administration, “U.S. Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 7 January 2018), entry for James Slicker, 1976, SS no. 397-07-6684.
[14] Find A Grave database. Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 7 January 2018), entry for Matilda Belle Seighman (1893-1954).
[15] Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 75:75, S.M. Jackson to Melissa Slicker, 13 August 1890; Recorder of Deeds Office, Kittanning.
[16] Indiana County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 6976:296, Julia A. Hartlett to Malissa J. Slicker, 10 December 1895; Recorder of Deeds Office, Indiana.
[17] Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 84:196, John Slicker to Esther Owens, 4, November 1895; Recorder of Deeds Office, Kittanning.
[18] Social Security Administration, “U.S. Social Security Death Index,” database, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 7 January 2018), entry for William Slicker, 1983, SS no. 317-09-9037.
[19] “1900 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25, July 2017), entry for John Slicker Family (9 members), Conemaugh Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
[20] “1900 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7, January 2018), entry for Samuel and Nancy Haney, Saltsburg, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
[21] “1910 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7, January 2018), entry for Fred Maness (age 6), Conemaugh Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
[22] Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania County Marriages, 1852-1973; County: Allegheny; Year Range: 1905-1906; Roll Number: 549836, database, Anccestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com/search/ : accessed 3 January 2018), entry for Frank Walton Slicker; citing Pennsylvania County Marriages, 1845-1963.
[23] Marriage Records. Pennsylvania Marriages. Various County Register of Wills Offices, Pennsylvania. Ancestry.com Pennsylvania, Marriages, 1852-1968 on-line database. Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7, January 2018), entry for Ruth Slicker (age 21).
© Robin Slicker, 2018. All Rights Reserve.
This is part one of a three-part series narrating the life of Malissa Jane Mansfield Slicker. My dad has said on many occasion that Malissa, his great-grandmother, spelled her name with an ‘a’ not an ‘e.’ Some historical documents seem to support his claim, but many other historical documents show it spelled with an ‘e.’ It appears that Malissa, despite completing school through the eighth grade (as reported in the 1940 U.S. Census), may not have been able to write. The 1880 and 1900 U.S. census shows that Malissa was not able to write. When Malissa and John sold properties in 1880, 1895 and 1914, Malissa made ‘her mark’ in place of a signature.
It’s interesting to note that whoever provided the U.S. census taker with the family information in 1910, 1920, and 1930 reported that Malissa could write. There is a 1937 property deed in which Malissa sold the property in Oklahoma Borough to her daughter, Matilda, and son-in-law, Albert Seighman. I don’t have a copy of it; and I was unable to get access to it on-line at the time of this writing. I have seen the deed, but can’t recall if this deed shows Melissa’s mark or her handwritten signature. One family document that might shed some light on how Malissa spelled her name is the family Bible. In fact there are two possible Bibles that may help us – the one kept by Malissa and the one kept by her mother. Since it was typical for families to document names and birth and death dates in the family Bible during Malissa’s time, I am assuming she and her mother each kept one. And if they did, I am hoping they still exist, and the present-day owner, should they find this site, is willing to share. Until then, I can only wonder if my dad was correct about the spelling of Malissa’s name.
Most of the information for this narrative was taken from the widow’s and minor’s Civil War pension file for Malissa, her sister, Matilda, and her mother, Nancy. Malissa, also had a sister, Anna, who must have died at a young age. I’m guessing around two or three. I have not found a death record for Anna or a grave marker. Without further delay, I will begin to tell Malissa’s story as I know it.
Did March of 1858 come in like a lion and go out like a lamb? That I don’t know. But I can tell you with near certainty that Malissa Jane Mansfield, with the help of attending physician, Dr. Charles Rudolph, made her grand entrance into the world on the 31st of that month and year.[1] She was the first-born child of John and Nancy Mansfield.
Malissa’s first view of the world outside the safety of her mother’s womb was the interior of the wooden framed house her parents called home.[2] Their home stood in Elizabeth, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.[3] It was here in this small community that rested on the east banks of the Monongahela River that Malissa passed most of her childhood years.
From the safety of her mother’s womb to an always changing world
In the year Malissa was born, the United States was still feeling the effects of the Panic of 1857. Like all major economic slumps, this one was marked by high unemployment and bank and business failures – the railroad industry being the hardest hit.
Every socio-economic group felt the impact. Those who lived in the rural communities felt the recession’s impact through a dramatic decline in grain prices. Investors involved in land speculation programs lost everything. The public, in general, lost confidence in the government’s ability to back its currency. This confidence was further shaken when 30,000 pounds of gold being shipped from the San Francisco mint to banks in the east were lost at sea.
Not all change was filled with doom and gloom like the Panic of 1857. Nine years earlier New York and Pennsylvania passed the Married Women’s Property Act. Other states would soon follow. This Act gave married women the right to buy and hold property in their name. A right that Malissa Jane Mansfield would exercise in her adult life.
Other changes Malissa would witness in her lifetime included automobiles, electricity in the home, refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, radios, televisions, ready-made clothes and so much more. More and more women would enter the workforce, and eventually, they would again the right to vote. But these are changes that Malissa would see in her adult life. There was one big change about to take place in Malissa’s childhood. A change brought about by a war that temporarily divided the nation in which she was born.
Malissa Gains Two Sisters
In October 1859, Malissa’s sister, Anna was born.[4] In this same month, the United States saw an increase in tension over the slavery issue as John Brown, an abolitionist, led a raid on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. Three days after the start of his liberation movement, John Brown was captured, tried for treason and murder, and executed in December 1859.
On March 19th, 1861 Dr. Jesse Penny was called to the Mansfield home.[5] With his help, Matilda Belle, joined the family in their wooden framed house in Elizabeth. As celebrations of this new life faded, the family returned to a normal daily routine. John went off to the local coal mine to earn a wage to support his family while Nancy took care of the home and children. John and Nancy and their neighbors and friends were unaware of how soon their normal daily routine was about to change.
Malissa’s Father Marches Off to War
Just a few weeks after Matilda was born, shots were fired at the Federal troops stationed at Fort Sumter catapulting the country into a four-year war. By years end John Mansfield and many other men of Elizabeth bid their families farewell. They set off for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where they were mustered into Company G, 101st Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry for the next three years.[6]
Malissa was about three years and eight months old when her father left home for the war. Was this the last time she saw him? Was her father ever granted leave? If so, did he travel back to visit the family? These questions remain unanswered.
At the end of his three-year service, Malissa’s father re-enrolled in Company G, 101st Regiment as a veteran private. He was mustered in at Plymouth, North Carolina on January 1, 1864.[7]
On March 31st, 1864 Malissa turned six. Three weeks later her father’s regiment while fighting alongside other Union regiments lost the Battle of Plymouth. They were captured by Confederate soldiers and taken to the prison war camp, Camp Sumter, in Andersonville, Georgia.
The conditions at Camp Sumpter were deplorable. Many Union soldiers died from poor malnutrition and disease. Malissa’s father was one. Her father, John, is said to have died August 15th of diarrhea and scurvy.[8] Malissa was six years and five months old.
Malissa’s Childhood Years After the War
In the months after the news of John’s death, Malissa’a mother, Nancy, applied for a widow’s pension. On October 25th, 1865, the Pension Office approved Nancy’s application for the allowable monthly amount of eight dollars retroactive to September 8th, 1864 – the date the Department of Interior accepted as John’s death date.[9]
Nancy’s application for a widow’s pension reported only two living children. Apparently in the years after the 1860 U.S. census and before the submission of the widow’s pension application, Malissa’s sister, Anna, passed away.
May 17, 1866 marked another turning point in Malissa’s life. Her mother, Nancy, married Samuel S. Haney. Upon this union, Nancy forfeited her right to the eight dollar a month pension payment. Knowing her children’s rights, she wasted no time filing a claim for Malissa and Matilda. As minor children of John Mansfield, they were entitled, upon approval, to the eight dollar a month pension payment. The claim was approved. An eight dollar a month payment was to begin on May 18th, 1866 with an additional $2 per child to begin on July 25th, 1866.
This ends part one of Malissa’s story. Don’t forget to come back for part two. In the meantime:
Do you have anything to add to Malissa’s childhood story? Do you know anything about her sisters, Anna or Matilda? Did you enjoy the story? Feel free to leave a comment.
Sources:
[1] Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Fold3.com (http://www.Fold3.com: accessed 15 October 2017) entry for John Mansfield and minor child Melissa Jane Mansfield, page 15 (copy of the written affidavit of Dr. Charles Rudolph).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Fold3.com (http://www.Fold3.com: accessed 15 October 2017) entry for John Mansfield and minor child Melissa Jane Mansfield, page 19 (copy of the written affidavit of Mary Warren and Hannah Householder, acquaintances of John and Nancy Manfield).
[4] “1860 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15, October 2017), entry for Anna Mansfield (age 8/12), Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
[5] Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Fold3.com (http://www.Fold3.com: accessed 15 October 2017) entry for John Mansfield and minor child Matilda Belle Mansfield, page 18 (copy of a written affidavit of Nancy Mansfield Haney).
[6] Pennsylvania State Archives, “Civil War Veterans’ Card File, 1861-1866.”Archives Record Information Access System (http://digitalarchives.state.pa.us : accessed 15 October 2017, entry for Mansfield, John, “PVT, [Co.] G, 101 PA US INF,” Elizabeth, Allegheny County.
[7] Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Fold3.com (http://www.Fold3.com: accessed 15 October 2017) entry for John Mansfield and minor child Melissa Jane Mansfield, page 8.
[8] Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Fold3.com (http://www.Fold3.com: accessed 15 October 2017) entry for John Mansfield and his widow Nancy Mansfield, page 33.
[9] Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861-1934, Fold3.com (http://www.Fold3.com: accessed 15 October 2017) entry for John Mansfield and his widow Nancy Mansfield.
© Robin Slicker, 2017. All Rights Reserved.
© 2017 Robin Slicker. All rights reserved.
This is part two of a two-part series narrating the history of John Slicker’s life. Part one of this series The Life of John Slicker (1857-1929) – Part 1 gives a brief narrative of John’s life from 1857, the year he was born, until 1890. This second part highlights events in John’s life from 1890 until 1929, the year he died. As you read part two, you may notice that I have not documented the sale of the property John and Malissa owned in Conemaugh Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. I’m not certain if I had a copy of that property deed and misplaced it; or I just didn’t look for it when I was at the Indiana County Courthouse. Nonetheless, I hope to find it. If I do, I will be updating this post to include the sale of that property. So, if you are interested in knowing about that sale, you may want to check back in a month or two.
August 30th, 1890 Malissa signed a property deed agreeing to pay three hundred and fifty dollars for two lots in Apollo Borough.[1] Five years and two months later – on November 5th, 1895- John and Malissa sold their two lots in Apollo for one thousand dollars.[2] They moved the family to Conemaugh Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. On December 10th of the same year, Malissa purchased eight acres and forty and six-tenths perches. Malissa agreed to pay four hundred dollars for this plot of land.[3] It is here, John and Malissa’s sixth son, William Eugene, was born December 13th, 1896.[4]
January 7th, 1892 John’s mother, Magdlena, passed away. John and Malissa were still living in Apollo. Although I have not found any written record, it is probable that John returned to Webster to attend the funeral service. Malissa who had just given birth three weeks earlier to their sixth child most likely didn’t make the trip, but rather stayed home to tend to the newborn and the other Slicker children.
The year was 1900. Twenty years had passed since John and Malissa were united in marriage. During these twenty years they had moved from Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania to Apollo, Armstrong County to Conemaugh Township in Indiana County. Over the years John went from digging coal in the mines of Webster to working as a catcher in a rolling mill. His eldest son, Frank, now seventeen, joined his father in the rolling mill as a matcher. Malissa with help from son, Samuel, age 15, was farming the eight acres of land she and John owned. It seemed the family worked together to make life better, but it wasn’t easy. Both John and Frank had been unemployed eight months between June 1st, 1899 to June 1st, 1900. Although Malissa purchased the eight acres in 1895, they were still carrying a mortgage.[5]
The year was 1910. By 1910 Frank, Samuel, and Ruth had married and left home. Frank, Samuel, George, James and Ruth’s husband were working at the sheet iron mill. John Slicker had left the mills and turned to farming the land. Malissa and the younger two children were probably helping with the farm work. In the years following 1901, John and Malissa had welcomed young Fred Manners into their home. Fred was listed as an adopted son in the 1910 United States census. John and Malissa were still carrying a mortgage on their property.[6]
The year was 1914. On October 23rd, 1914 John and Melissa agreed to pay three hundred dollars for lots eighteen and nineteen in Washington Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Each lot had frontage of forty feet on a public street then called Brick Road. The lots extended one hundred twenty feet from Brick Road to an alley.[7] Those two lots would become Malissa and John’s last purchased property.
The year was 1917. On February 23rd, Eva Stinogle Vogel, John’s eldest half-sister passed away.[8] She was seventy years old. It is unknown whether John returned to Webster for the funeral service. Eva is buried next to her mother at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Monongahela, Pennsylvania.
The year was 1920. It was the start of the Roaring Twenties. The coming decade of economic prosperity and political and cultural change began with women being granted the right to vote, and the enactment of the Volstead Act which closed every bar, tavern and saloon in the United States marking the era of Prohibition. A greater part of the population lived in the cities and small towns than on farms. An increasing number of women were entering the work force. Many American families had extra money to spend; and they spent it on consumer goods – electric washing machines, refrigerators, and vacuum cleaners, radios, ready-to wear clothes, and automobiles.
Despite the major political and cultural changes taking place in America, one cultural norm remained almost intact – families living close to one another. And thus, we find John and Malissa Slicker living on Brick Road, Washington Township (now present-day borough of Oklahoma), Westmoreland County; nearby and on the same road, we find John and Ruth Slicker Hardwick and their four children, Albert and Matilda Slicker Seighman and their three children, George M. And Bessie E. Slicker and their two children, and Samuel and Ethel Hardwick Slicker and their five children and Ethel’s mother, Violet Hardwick. John and Malissa’s son, Frank is living with his wife, Estella, and their five children across the river in the borough of Apollo.
At the time of this writing, I have been unsuccessful in locating James C. and William Eugene in the 1920 census. William’s wife, Lela, and their six-month old son, Eugene, are living with Lela’s parents on the west side of Warren Avenue in Apollo.
All the Slicker men, except John, were working in a steel mill. John was a general merchant and owned his own shop. His adopted son, Fred R. Manners was still living with John and Malissa. Fred was seventeen and working as a utility boy for the railroad.[9]
The year was 1921. John must have received the news from his half-sister, Mary, about the passing of his half-brother, Conrad Stinogle. Conrad, a retired coalminer, left this earth on May 22, 1921.[10] He is buried in the Monongahela City Cemetery, in Monongahela, Pennsylvania.
The year was 1924. Mary, John’s half-sister, sold the property she had purchased from John and Malissa in 1880.[11] In 1930 Mary and her two sons, Samuel and James, moved to Butler, Hancock County, West Virginia. Twelve years later Mary, who was living with her son, James in Holidays Cove, Hancock County, West Virginia, passed away.[12]
The year was 1929. On July 31st, about three months before the Roaring Twenties were to come to a crashing halt, John Slicker, our ancestor, left his earthly journey.[13] The second generation of this branch of the Slicker family tree was laid to rest in the Vandergrift Cemetery, in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. Malissa would join John twenty-nine years later.
You can visit John’s and Malissa’s Find-A-Grave memorials at:
John Slicker’s Memorial Page at Find-A-Grave
If you know additional details or have a story about John Slicker’s life and would like to share, please do so in the comment section below.
References:
[1] Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 75:75, S.M. Jackson to Melissa Slicker, 13 August 1890; Recorder of Deeds Office, Kittanning.
[2] Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 84:196, John Slicker to Esther Owens, 4, November 1895; Recorder of Deeds Office, Kittanning.
[3] Indiana County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 6976:296, Julia A. Hartlett to Malissa J. Slicker, 10 December 1895; Recorder of Deeds Office, Indiana.
[4] “1900 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25, July 2017), entry for William E. Slicker (age 3), Conemaugh Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
[5] “1900 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25, July 2017), entry for John Slicker Family (9 members), Conemaugh Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
[6] “1910 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25, July 2017), entry for John Slicker Family (7 members), Conemaugh Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
[7] Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 554:137, John Orr Chambers to John Slicker, 23 October 1914; Recorder of Deeds Office, Greensburg
[8] Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate 25302 (1917), Eva Vogel, Division of Vital Records, New Castle.
[9] “1920 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25, July 2017), entry for John Slicker Family (3 members), Washington Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
[10] Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate 49167 (1921), Conrad Stinogle, Division of Vital Records, New Castle.
[11] Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 791:59, Mary Sharrow to Paul Tomecko ET UX, 3 September 1924; Recorder of Deeds Office, Greensburg
[12] West Virginia State Department of Health, death certificate 7484 (1942), Mary Sharrow, Division of Vital Records, New Castle.
[13] Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate 77663 (1929), John Slicker, Division of Vital Records, New Castle.
© Robin Slicker, 2017. All Rights Reserve.
John Slicker, son of Philip and Magdlena (Friend) Slicker, was born March 17th, 1857 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania[1]. John may have been Philip’s first and only child. He was Magdlena’s fourth living child. Although it is unknown where in Allegheny County John was born, the 1860 Federal Census for Allegheny County shows John, age four, living with his parents and half-siblings, Conrad, Eva and Mary Steinogle in Baldwin Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania near Library.[2] So this is where I will start the story.
The year was 1861. Thirteen days after Abraham Lincoln began his first term as president, John reached his fourth birthday. A few weeks later the young independent nation John’s foreign-born mother, Magdlena Friend Slicker, came to call home engaged in one of its bloodiest wars.
There is no evidence that Philip, John’s father, was ever called to enlist in the Union Army. If not called to take up arms, Philip must have continued picking and shoveling out a living in a nearby mine. As the 1860 Federal census shows Philip’s step-son, Conrad, 14, joined Philip in this physically demanding work.[3]
The year was 1870. The war between the North and South had ended five years earlier; and the nation was reunified. John, age 13, was living with his mother and his half-brother, Conrad Steinogle, in Forward Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. His father, Philip, was no longer with the family.[4] Did he die from a mining accident? Or did he pass from natural causes? Whatever the reason, it must have been hard on the family to lose their loved one and the main breadwinner at such a young age.
The burden of supporting the family fell on Conrad. It is unclear if John, who was of legal age to work in the mines, was working alongside his half-brother. The 1870 Federal Census lists no occupation for John; and the column for documenting school attendance within the past year isn’t marked either.[5]
In the years following 1870, Conrad, John and their mother moved to Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County Pennsylvania.
The year was 1873. The national economy had taken a downturn; but this did not stop John, now 16, and his step-brother, Conrad, from agreeing to pay $600 for three adjacent lots at the north end of Webster, a village nestled between a steep hillside and the mighty Monongahela River.[6] Conrad and John shared ownership of those three lots until one month after John’s 21st birthday in 1878. In 1878, John and Conrad signed two quitclaim deeds dividing the three adjacent lots into two parcels. Conrad and his wife, Isabella took ownership of the northern half of those three lots. John took ownership of the southern-half of those three lots.[7]
The year was 1880. In the cold month of January, John married Malissa Jane Mansfield, a daughter of John and Nancy Mansfield. About two weeks after their marriage, John and Malissa sold John’s southern part of the three adjacent lots he jointly purchased with Conrad. They sold the property for $600 to John’s half-sister, Mary Stinogle.[8] John and Malissa moved to a house a few streets away. They rented a home near John’s half-sister, Eva and her husband John Vogel. Malissa’s mother, Nancy, and step-father, Samuel Haney, lived about a small-village block away.
John, continued work as a coal miner. But the work was not steady. The 1880 United States census shows that John was unemployed for six months between June 1st, 1879 and June 1, 1880.[9] He was not alone. By 1880, periods of unemployment in the coal mining industry had become common. These periods of unemployment were not a result of decrease in demand for this fossil fuel. On the contrary, demand for coal was increasing. The technology for mining had improved; but the coal mining industry of the late nineteenth century, like the oil industry of today, experienced periods of boom and bust.
The severest winter weather ever experienced in the United States arrived in the fall of 1880. By October bitter cold and white blizzards began swirling their way across the land dumping massive amounts of snow. The snow and cold continued through October… through November…through December. And into this white, wonderland came Milford, John and Malissa’s first child. What should have been a moment of joy was briefly lived if lived at all. This tiny life, unlike the snow and cold of that winter, did not linger.
The year was 1882. John and Malissa had moved from Webster, Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County to Apollo, Armstrong County. It is probable that John found employment in the Apollo Iron Company, later renamed the Apollo Iron & Steel Company. As the year came to an end, John and Malissa welcomed with joy their son, Frank Walton Slicker, into their lives and home. It was December 30th, 1882.
On January 4th, 1885 John and Malissa welcomed their third son, Samuel John Slicker, into the world. In the eight years following, John and Malissa added a child to the growing family every two years. Their first daughter Ruth Elizabeth arrived September 17, 1887. George Mansfield Slicker arrived on July 29th, 1889. And James Clifford was born December 18, 1891. Matilda Belle, the second daughter, was born November 14th, 1893. The Slicker household was filled with six sons and daughters ranging from infant to eleven years of age.
[1] Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate 013051 (1917), John Slicker, Division of Vital Records, New Castle.
[2] “1860 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11, July 2017), entry for Johny Slicker (age 4), Baldwin Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
[3] “1860 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11, July 2017), entry for Conrad Slicker (age 15), Baldwin Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
[4] “1870 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11, July 2017), entry for John Steingle (age 13), Forward Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
[5] “1870 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11, July 2017), entry for Conrad Steingle (age 23), Martha Stengle (age 49) and John Steingle (age 13), Forward Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
[6] Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 364:77-78, Captain John Gilmore and wife to Conrad Stiernogle and John Slicker, 2 June 1873; Recorder of Deeds Office, Greensburg.
[7] Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 96:38-39, John Slicker to Conrad Steinogle, 19 April 1878; Recorder of Deeds, Greensburg. And Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 96:40-41 Conrad Steinogle and his wife, Isabella, to John Slicker, 19, April 1878; Recorder of Deeds, Greensburg, PA
[8] Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Deed Book 101:439-441, John Slicker and Malissa Slicker to Mary Stinogle, 28, January 1880; Recorder of Deeds, Greensburg.
[9] “1880 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11, July 2017), entry for John Slicker (age 23), Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
2017 © Robin Slicker, All Rights Reserved.
This is part three of a three-part series. Part one of this series https://aslickerfamilyhistory.com/2017/05/17/john-slicker-first-property-purchased-at-age-16/ began with John Slicker and his half-brother, Conrad Stinogle, buying three adjacent lots at the north end of a small village in Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in 1873. Part two to this series https://aslickerfamilyhistory.com/2017/05/22/john-slicker-history-of-johns-first-property/ narrates how John and Conrad, using two quitclaim deeds, divided the property in 1878. John took possession of the larger southern part. Conrad took ownership of the northern part. Now, it’s 1880, and John is ready to move on.
January 13th, 1880 John Slicker married Malissa Mansfield. Fifteen days later, John and Malissa sold the property John purchased in 1873 to John’s half-sister, Mary Stinogle. Mary was single and supporting her seven year old son, John W. Slicker¹. Let’s take a closer look at how this property transfer occurred.
It all began in 1873 when John and Conrad agreed to pay $600 for three adjacent lots. In 1878, John and Conrad divided the three lots into two parts. From the description of the division line in the 1878 and 1880 deeds, it seems there is one shared dwelling on the property. These two deeds describe the division line as passing through the halls of the Mansion House and close to the partition separating the Hall from the north rooms. In 1880, John agreed to sell his part of those three lots to his half-sister, Mary, for $600. The property’s value nearly doubled in seven years.
Following are images of the deed used to transfer the property from John and Malissa to Mary. You may choose to skip pass the deed images to read the rest of this post. With the exception of the first image, the 1880 property deed mostly repeats what has appeared in the 1873 and 1878 property deeds.
1880 Property Deed: From John and Malissa Slicker to Mary Stinogle
This indenture made the twenty eighth day of January in the year of our Lord one Thousand and Eight hundred and Eighty (Jan 28″ AD 1880 Between John Slicker and Malissa Slicker his wife both of Webster in the County of Westmoreland and State of Pennsylvania parties of the first part and Mary Stinogle single woman of Webster Westmoreland County in the state aforesaid party of the second part witnesseth that the said parties of the first part for and in consideration of the sum of six hundred Dollars lawful money of the United States of America unto them well and truly paid by the said party of the second part at or before the sealing and delivery of these presents the receipt…
1880 Property Deed: Description of the Property Transfer in 1873
All that certain messauge or lot piece or parcel of land situate and lying and being in Rostraver Township Westmoreland County Pa Being in Gilmore Addition to North Webster and being the southern part of three certain lots in said village of North Webster which Capt John Gilmore and Susannah his wife by their deed bearing date the second day of June AD 1873 conveyed to Conrad Stinogle and John Slicker this grantor which deed is of Record in the Office for Recording Deeds & in and for the said county in Book 77 page 364 August 14″ 1873 which three Lots are known and described as follows in the general plan of said village they are numbered No one hundred and forty seven (147) one hundred and forty four (144) and one hundred and forty three (143) on first street bounded as follows…
1880 Property Deed: Description of Property in 1873 (the three Lots) and
the Beginning of the Description of the Property Being Transferred in 1880
Beginning at the corner of lot No (148) on First street thence along said street one hundred and fifty feet to the corner of lot No (140) thence along said lot one hundred feet to water street thence along said street one hundred and fifty feet to corner of Lot one hundred and forty Eight (148) thence along said Lot one hundred feet to first street the place of Beginning The part of the above described premises hereby conveyed is bounded and described as follows to wit Beginning on first street at the south East corner of said three Lots thence along said first street seventy nine feet and five inches (79 ft 5 in) to a stake thence through the Hall of the Mansion house and close to the partition separating said Hall…
1880 Property Deed: Continuing with the Description Started in Previous Image
…from the north rooms and parallel with the line of said lots from first street to water street thence along water street to the corner of Lot No 148 thence along said lot to first street and the place of Beginning the same being the southern portion of the foregoing described three Lots and being the same part thereof which Conrad Stinogle and Isabella Stinogle his wife conveyed to John Slicker this grantor by their Quit claim Deed dated the nineteenth day of April AD 1878 which deed is of Record in the Office for Recording Deeds in and for the said County in Deed Book No 96 pages 40 and 41 May 22nd 1878 Together with…
The story continues:
After the sale of the property, John and Malissa moved near, perhaps even next door to, John’s half-sister, Eva Stinogle Vogel, and her family. John’s and Eva’s property was enclosed by First Street on the west, Center Street on the East and Wall Street running along the north side of the property. Malissa’s mother, Nancy Haney, and step-father, Samuel Haney, lived a few houses away from John and Malissa.², ³, [4] John and Melissa had two children, Milford and Frank, while living in Webster. Then between 1882 and 1885, John moved his small family to Apollo, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
1876 Atlas Map of Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Mary, John’s half-sister, married Abraham Sharrow. The marriage took place somewhere between the date Mary bought the property and June 1, 1880, the first date of the 1880 Federal Census. Magdlena, the mother of John and Mary, was now living with Mary and her family.[5]
In which year did John and Malissa move from Webster to Apollo, Pennsylvania? After they moved, did they ever return to Webster to visit their families? If you have an answer to these two questions or have any thoughts, facts or details that will add to the story, feel free to share in the comment section. Questions and comments related to the post are welcomed.
¹Mary’s son’s name was reported as John W. in the 1880 Federal Census. However, in subsequent census years and other records, her son’s name was reported as William J. Slicker. Interesting!
²“1880 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 29, May 2017), entry for John Slicker (age 23), Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
³“1880 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 29, May 2017), entry for Eva Vogel (age 30), Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
[4]“1880 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 29, May 2017), entry for Samuel Haney (age 34), Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
[5]“1880 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 29, May 2017), entry for Mary Shoraw (age 27), Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
2017 © Robin Slicker, All Rights Reserved.
This is part two of a three-part series narrating the history of John Slicker’s first property. Part one of this series John’s First Property – Purchased at age 16 narrated the purchase of his first property in 1873 and includes images of the property deed and present-day photos. The third post narrates the sale of the property in 1880. Part two narrates the 1878 events related to the property.
In 1878, thirty-three days after John’s twenty-first birthday, John and Conrad signed two quitclaim deeds dividing the three lots. Conrad took ownership of the northern part of the three lots. And John took ownership of the southern part of the three lots. Read on to learn how this division took place, who received the larger of the two portions and to learn exactly where the division line was drawn.
The year was 1873. John, Conrad and their mother, Magdlena Slicker, had been living in Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania for three years or less¹,² when John and his step-brother, Conrad, signed a deed agreeing to pay $600 for three lots in Gilmore’s Addition. Gilmore’s Addition was at the northern end of Webster, Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
Here is what the property looks like today:
In April 1878 – thirty-three days after John’s twenty-first birthday ³, John and Conrad signed two quit-claim deeds with the purpose of dividing the three lots they purchased in 1873 (4, 5).
Note to the reader: I have included images of different sections of the two quitclaim deeds. For those who aren’t interested in reading the fancy handwriting of the past, I have included transcriptions for each deed image. In the transcriptions of some of the deeds, I have highlighted lines I thought might be of interest. I also hope the highlighted lines help to distinguish one deed from the other. I have attempted to transcribe as is – leaving the original grammar and punctuation.
1878 Quitclaim Deed: John Slicker to Conrad Steinogle, Deed Book 96, page 38
This part of the deed states:
This indenture made the nineteenth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy eight. Between John Slicker of Webster, Westmoreland County and state of Pennsylvania, miner, of the first part and Conrad Steinogle of the town county and state aforesaid party of the second part. Witnesseth that the said party of the first part for and in consideration of one dollar in hand paid by the said party of the second part…
1878 Quitclaim Deed: Description of the Property, Deed Book 96, page 38
The description on page 38 reads as follows:
…to the following described piece or parcel of land to wit part of three certain lost of ground situate in Gilmore Addition to North Webster in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania which in the general plan of said town are numbered Nos. one hundred and forty seven (147) one hundred forty four (144) and one hundred and forty three (143). bounded and described as follows to wit. Starting at the corner of Lot No 148 on first Street thence along said Street one hundred and fifty 150 feet to the corner of Lot no one hundred and forty (140) thence along said lot one hundred 100 feet to Water Street thence along said Street one hundred and fifty 150 feet to the corner of Lot no one hundred and… (cont. on page 39).
1878 Quitclaim Deed: Description of the Property, Deed Book 96, page 39
The description on page 39 reads as follows:
… forty eight. thence along said Lot one hundred 100 feet to first Street the place of beginning. Which John Gilmore and Susannah Gilmore his wife by deed dated June second of 1873 conveyed to Conrad Steinogle and John Slicker recorded in deed book vol 77 page 364 date Aug 14th 1873 as by reference thereto will fully and at large appear. Starting on first Street at the N.E corner of the said three lots. thence along said street seventy 70 feet and seven inches thence on a line parallel to the line of said Lots from first to water street one hundred feet thence along said street seventy 70 feet and seven inches to N.W. corner of said three lots aforesaid conveyed by John Gilmore and Susannah Gilmore his wife June second of 1873 to Conrad Steinogle and John Stickler of which this is a part thence by line of said Lots 100 feet to first street at the place of starting. the said division line passing through the hall of the Mansion house close to the partition separating the north rooms from said Hall. To have and to hold…..
1878 Quitclaim Deed: Conrad Steinogle to John Slicker, Deed Book 96, Page 40.
This part of the deed states:
This indenture made the nineteenth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy eight. Between Conrad Steinogle and Isabella Steinogle his wife of Webster, in the County of Westmoreland County and state of Pennsylvania, parties of the first part and John Slicker (miner) of Webster in the county and state aforesaid party of the second part. Witnesseth that the said parties of the first part for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar, lawful money of America unto them truly paid by the said party of the second part…
Note: Conrad married Isabella Carmichael December 10, 1876 (6). They had their first child, Margaret, in November 1877 (7).
1878 Quitclaim Deed: Description of the Property, Deed Book 96, page 40
The description on page 40 states:
…to the following described Lot, piece or parcel of land. To wit: (a part of three certain Lots lying contiguously to each other, fronting on First Street one hundred and fifty (150) feet and running back one hundred 100 feet to Water Street, being in Gilmore addition to North Webster, and in the general plan of said town Numbered Nos. one hundred and forty seven (147), one hundred and forty four (144), and one hundred and forty three (143) being each fifty feet front on First Street and running back one hundred feet to Water Street. The part _____ revised and quitclaimed commencing on First Street at the South East corner of the said three Lots, thence along said street seventy nine feet and five inches to a stake. Thence through the Hall of the Mansion house and close to the partition separating said Hall from the North Rooms, and continuing strait and parallel with the line of said Lots from First to Water Street. the same being the Southern portion of the above described three Lots of ground, which John Gilmore and Susannah Gilmore his wife by Deed bearing date Junes Second one thousand eight hundred and Seventy Three ( June 2 1873) conveyed to Conrad Steinogle and John Slicker, the present grantor and grantee, which deed is of Record in the Office for Recording Deeds in Greensburgh in said County in Book 77, page 364 ….
In conclusion: John and Conrad purchased three lots in 1873. Together the lots measured 150 feet by 100 feet. In 1878, John and Conrad signed two quitclaim deeds dividing the three lots into two portions. Conrad took ownership of the northern part. This part measured 70 feet, 7 inches by 100 feet. John took ownership of the southern part. This part measured 79 feet, 5 inches by 100 feet. The size of the parts seem to have been determined by the division line which “passed through the Hall of the Mansion house.” Given the property description and location of the division line, it seems there was one dwelling structure shared by both John, Conrad, their mother, Conrad’s wife, Isabella, and Conrad’s daughter, Margaret.
What event triggered the division of ownership? It appears that John’s twenty-first birthday was the trigger for the dividing of the property. There is no other event that I am aware of. It couldn’t have been Conrad’s marriage to Isabella. Two years had passed since the date of their marriage. It most likely wasn’t the birth of Conrad’s and Isabella’s first child. Eight months had passed since her birth. The number of occupants living in the “Mansion house” did not change upon the division of ownership. It remained the same. Thus, the changing size of Conrad’s family doesn’t seem to be the trigger for the division of ownership.
Since the division of ownership occurred thirty-three days after John’s twenty-first birthday and nineteenth century law required a male to be twenty-one of age or older to own property, John’s age seems to be the trigger for the division of ownership.
Finally, a question remains: Did the 1873 purchase of lots 143, 144 and 147 include the “Mansion house,” or did John and Conrad build it?
If you have an answer to the question above or have any thoughts, questions or comments that will add to the story, feel free to share in the comment section.
Source Citations:
¹“1870 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21, May 2017), entry for John Steingle (age 13), Forward Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
²Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 364:77-78, Captain John Gilmore and wife to Conrad Stiernogle, 2 June 1873; Recorder of Deeds Office, Greensburg, PA.
³Pennsylvania Department of Health, death certificate 77633 (1929), John Slicker, Division of Vital Records, New Castle.
(4)Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book, 96:38-39, John Slicker to Conrad Steinogle, 19 April 1878; Recorder of Deeds Office, Greensburg, PA.
(5)Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book, 96:40-41, Conrad Steinogle to John Slicker, 19 April 1878; Recorder of Deeds Office, Greensburg, PA.
(6)WikiTree, Isabella (Carmichael) Stinogle. WikiTree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Carmichael-1641: accessed 21, May 2017).
(7)WikiTree, Margaret (Stinogle) Kesterson. WikiTree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stinogle-3: accessed 21, May 2017).
© 2017, Robin Slicker. All rights reserved.
The year was 1873. The economy which had flourished in the years following the end of the Civil War was coming to a slow. But that slowed economy didn’t stop John Slicker, 16, and his step-brother, Conrad Stinogle, 26, from purchasing a property from Captain John Gilmore and his wife, Susannah. The property, a part of Gilmore’s Addition, was located at the north end of Webster, a small village in Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
1876 Atlas Map of Webster and Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, PA
On June 2, 1873, John and Conrad, who were working as coalminers and supporting their mother, Magdlena, signed their name to a deed agreeing to pay $600 for three adjacent lots: Lots 143, 144, and 147. Each lot was 50 feet by 100 feet.
2017 Image of Boundary Lines for Lots 143, 144 and 147
Although these three lots were originally equal in size, overtime their boundary lines shifted. Today the lots sizes are as followed:
Lot 143 38 x 100
Lot 144, PT LT 143 and 147 76.79 x 100
PT Lot 147 35.29 x 100
June 2, 1873 Property Deed
You can read the description of the property in the image of the deed given above, or read it below. As you read it, try to follow the boundary lines on the image of the GIS map given above.
Starting at the corner of lot No (148) on first street thence along said Street one hundred and fifty feet to corner of lot (140) Thence along said lot one hundred (100) feet to water street Thence along said Street one hundred fifty feet to corner of lot one hundred and forty eight (148) Thence along said lot one hundred feet to first street the place of Beginning
Unfortunately, I do not have an 1873 photo of these three lots; but I do have 2017 photos. The down-side: the “Mansion” house that John, Conrad and Magdlena called home is gone.
Present-day View of Lots 143, 144 and 147
I have added a few more photos for those who are not able to travel to Webster to view the town John Slicker and his mother, Magdlena, called home.
The View East of the Three Lots
North end of Webster looking back towards Webster
Webster, PA – Late 1800s.
Should you want to find lots 143, 144 and 147 on Google Maps or to drive out to see them in person, here are their present-day addresses:
Lot 143 vacant lot Nulled Address
Lot 144, PT Lots 143 and 147 with mobile home 121 Bargehr Lane, Webster
PT Lot 147 with Building 123 Bargehr Lane, Webster
(to be continued in the next post)
© 2017, Robin Slicker. All Rights Reserved.
A Slicker Family History 