Nancy Jane Mansfield Haney: Moving Through Life – Part 2

This is part two of a two-part series narrating the life story of Nancy Jane Mansfield Haney. This second part begins in Apollo, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Nancy, her second husband, Samuel Haney, and their children had moved from Webster, Westmoreland County to Apollo by the early 1880s. The story follows Nancy and Samuel to Saltsburg, Indiana County, Pennsylvania in 1895 and ends in Oklahoma Borough, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in 1917. If you haven’t read part one of Nancy’s story and would like to do so before reading part two, you may do so here Nancy Jane Mansfield Haney: Moving Through Life – Part 1

Between 1881-1882, Nancy and Samuel settled in Apollo, Armstrong County, not far from where Nancy spent her childhood years. This small community along the Kiskiminetas River was well populated in the 1880s. One of the largest employers of the time was the rolling mill which had gone under various name changes with the most well-known name being the Apollo Iron & Mill Co. It is highly probable that Samuel went to work at this mill.

August 21^st, 1882 Nancy was received into the United Methodist Church in Apollo, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.[1] Her husband, Samuel, was received on August 26^th, 1883.[2] In June of 1890, Nancy’s and Samuel’s daughter, Jennie (Eliza), married Lester W. Taylor in Allegheny county.[3] It is in this county that Jennie and her husband, Lester, would take up residence.[4] Two months after Jennie’s marriage, Nancy’s daughter, Melissa, purchased property in Apollo.[5] The family was here to stay, so it seemed.

By 1890 this small community that Nancy and Samuel came to call home was thriving. Its population had grown from 449 residents in 1860 to 1,156 in 1880.[6] The population reached its peak of 2,000 about 1890. The main attraction was the available employment at the Apollo Iron & Mill Co. All seemed to be going well for this company and the small community it occupied when, in 1893 in reaction to an economic downturn, the then president of the mill, George McMurtry, cut wages by 8 to 15 percent. In protest, several rollers angry with the current situation walked out in protest. In response, McMurtry closed the mill down for several months. He reopened the mill a few months later with non-union workers. With the exception of those who chose to leave the union, the doors of this growing company were forever closed to the unionized skilled laborers who once worked there. With no alternative form of employment in the local area, these skilled laborers drifted away.

In 1895, the same year McMurtry moved the Apollo Iron & Steel Co. down the river to a newly built community, Nancy’s daughter, Melissa, and son-in-law, John, sold their property in Apollo.[7] While Melissa, John and their children moved to their newly purchased eight acres of land just north of Saltsburg in Indiana County,[8] Nancy and Samuel with their son, Samuel M., settled in Saltsburg. Their son, James, had married in 1891 and was living with his wife, Frankie Kipp,[9] on Market Street in Scottsdale, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.[10]

Nancy and Samuel did not own property and appeared to have moved around in the small community of Saltsburg. In the early part of 1898, they moved from an area of Saltsburg known as the Extension to Ms. Murray’s property at Point Pleasant, at the opposite end of town.[11] By the end of the year, they were living at the Waddle’s property on the corner of Grant and Market Streets.[12] Samuel and his youngest son were employed as sheet iron workers.[13]

Samuel Haney moved from the Extension to Point Pleasant in Saltsburg, PA early 1898.

Samuel Haney and his wife, Nancy, moved from Point Pleasant to Grant and Market streets late 1898.

Nancy’s and Samuel’s youngest son move to Pittsburgh shortly after the turn of the century.[14] By World War I, he was married and living in Cleveland, Ohio near his brother James.[15] Nancy and Samuel moved to Salina, Westmoreland County as of 1907.[16]

Samuel and Nancy were living in Salina. PA in 1907.

Ten years later, Nancy passed away in the home of her granddaughter, Ruth Slicker Hardwick. Funeral services were held at the Methodist Episcopal Church in Apollo, and Nancy was laid to rest at the Riverview Cemetery in Apollo, Pennsylvania.[17] Her husband, Samuel, moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he lived with his son, Samuel, at 9342 Amesbury Avenue.[18] It was almost one year from the date of Nancy’s passing when Samuel crossed over the threshold of this mortal life joining his wife in the everlasting life leaving behind family and friends whom he loved.[19]

Nancy Jane Mansfield Haney’s Find-A-Grave Memorial

Sources:

[1] Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1669-2013 for Nancy Haney, Ancestry.com, accessed 30, December 2018.

[2] Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1669-2013 for Samuel Haney, Ancestry.com, accessed 30, December 2018.

[3] Pennsylvania, County Marriage Records, 1845-1963, database, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/ : accessed 30, December 2018, entry for Jennie Taylor, 25, June 1890; citing Pennsylvania County Marriages 1852-1973; County: Allegheny; Year Range: 1889-1890; Roll Number: 549747.

[4] 1900 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28, January 2018), entry for Jennie Taylor (age 31), Pittsburgh Ward 5, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

[5] Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 75:75, S.M. Jackson to Melissa Slicker, 13 August 1890; Recorder of Deeds Office, Kittanning.

[6] Martin, Louis C., Tin Plate Towns, 1890-1910: Local Labor Movements and Workers’ Responses to the Crisis in the Steelworkers’ Union, A Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, Vol. 74, No. 4, Autumn 2007, pp. 494-495, online, https://www.jstor.org accessed 30, December 2018.

[7] Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 84:196, John Slicker to Esther Owens, 4, November 1895; Recorder of Deeds Office, Kittanning.

[8] Indiana County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 6976:296, Julia A. Hartlett to Malissa J. Slicker, 10 December 1895; Recorder of Deeds Office, Indiana.

[9] Pennsylvania Marriages, 1852-1968, database, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/ accessed 30, December 2018, entry for James Haney, age 20, 7 Oct 1891; citing Marriage Records. Pennsylvania Records. VariousCounty Register of Wills Offices, Pennsylvania.

[10] 1900 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, (https://search.ancestry.com/ accessed 30, December 2018), entry for James Haney (age 29), Scottdale, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

[11] Saltsburg, The Indiana Gazette, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Weds, 13, April 1898, pg. 13, column 1, database, Newspapers.com (https://newspapers.com : accessed 30, December 2018), entry for Samuel Haney.

[12] Saltsburg, The Indiana Gazette, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Weds, 12, October 1898, pg. 13, column 2, database, Newspapers.com (https://newspapers.com : accessed 30, December 2018), entry for Samuel Haney.

[13] “1900 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30, December 2018), entry for Samuel Haney, Saltsburg, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.

[14] Local Correspondences, Saltsburg. The Indiana Weekly Messenger, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Weds. 11, April 1906, pg. 13, column 1, database Newspapers.com (https://newspaper.com : accessed 30, December 2018) entry for Samuel Haney.

[15] U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Ancestry.com (https:///.search.Ancestry.com : accessed 30, December 2018), entry for Samuel Haney; citing Cleveland, Ohio, City Directory, 1917.

[16] Local Correspondences, Saltsburg. The Indiana Weekly Messenger, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Weds. 29, May 1907, pg. 2, column 1, database Newspapers.com (https://newspaper.com : accessed 30, December 2018) entry for Samuel Haney.

[17] Died, Mrs. Nancy Haney. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sat. 27, January 1917, pg. 3, column

8, database Newspapers.com (https://newspaper.com : accessed 30, December 2018) entry for Nancy Haney.

[18] U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Ancestry.com (https:///.search.Ancestry.com : accessed 30, December 2018), entry for Samuel Haney; citing Cleveland, Ohio, City Directory, 1917.

[19] Ohio Department of Health, death certificate 1256 (1917), Samuel Stewart Haney, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Columbus.

Four Women Sitting on a Front Porch Somewhere

July 15, 2018October 25, 2018 aslickerfamilyhistory Photos from the Family Album Jennie Taylor, John Slicker, Malissa Mansfield, Nancy Haney, Samuel Haney

I was looking through the black and white photos we had inherited from my paternal grandparents, Leonard Floyd and Wilda Pearl Boyer Slicker, when I came upon the black and white photo below – four women sitting on a front porch somewhere.

Who are these women? They must be family members, right? After all their photo is in the family album. Or are they friends of the family? What about neighbors? Unfortunately, it wasn’t common to identify the people or places in photos of the past. But, let’s flip this photo over and see if someone has left us a clue.

This is the back side of the four women sitting on a porch somewhere photo.

Okay, now we see some identification scrawled across the back in two distinct blue inks. In the lighter blue ink we see: Aunt Jen (black dress white socks), and “John Slicker’s sister.” In darker blue we read: Sam Slicker’s father. Questions arise.

Has this photo been properly identified? Who inscribed the backside of the photo? When did they inscribed the backside? Was it inscribed soon after the taken of the photo? Or was it inscribed years later when someone was trying to remember? The two distinct blue inks suggest the third line was perhaps added later.

Who is Aunt Jen? The backside of the photo tells us she is the one wearing a black dress and white socks. It also tells us she is a sister of John Slicker. The third line tells us John was the father of Sam Slicker. Problem is no documentation exists supporting John Slicker had a sister named Jen. What we have here is the typical mystery that commonly appears in the old family photo album.

We have names. We have relationships. We have faces. The names, the clothing, and the photo color and format (white borders) suggest a time period. But the names and relationships offer us our best clues. The best place to start digging for answers is in the family history. The very history that has been slowly unraveling in the posts of this website.

The relationships stated on the back of the photo suggests that John Slicker, father of Sam Slicker, had a sister named Jen. But we know from the stories posted that John Slicker did not have a sister named Jen. But what about a sister-in-law? John Slicker’s wife was Malissa Mansfield. In the three-part series documenting Malissa Mansfield Slicker’s life, we learn that Malissa had a sister, Anne Mansfield, who died within the first few years of her life, and a sister, Matilda Mansfield, who married William H. Owens. Malissa also had two half-sisters, Sarah and Elizabeth Haney. Hmmmm. No Jen. The mystery, or better yet said, the confusion deepens. Who can this Aunt Jen be? Let’s not throw the towel in yet. As all family historians know, we must leave no stone unturned. So, we set the photo aside while we go digging into the archives of the past. And with luck, we find a lead…

….such as this one: a transcription of Nancy Mansfield Haney’s obituary. Nancy is the mother of Malissa and Matilda Mansfield, and of Sarah, Elizabeth, James W. and Samuel M. Haney.

Mrs. Nancy Haney Friday, January 26, 1917

Early yesterday morning occurred the death of Mrs. Nancy Haney aged 78 yrs., wife of Samuel Haney, at the home of her granddaughter, Mrs. John Hardwick, in Oklahoma, after a short illness of pneumonia. She is survived by the following children: Mrs. Owens of N. Washington; Mrs. Slicker of Oklahoma; Mrs. L.W. Taylor of Pittsburgh; and James W. and Samuel M. of Indiana Harbor, Ind…

This transcription of the original obituary appeared in a book titled Obituaries 1916-1920, vol. 3. I believe we found this genealogical gem back in the 90’s at the Apollo Public Library in Apollo, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania. The original obituary appeared in one of the local papers of the time.

Mrs. Owens was Matilda. Mrs. Slicker was Malissa. But who was this Mrs. L.W. Taylor? Was she Sarah or Elizabeth? And if Nancy had four daughters, and the obituary names only three which of the last two mentioned died and when? The answers to these questions may be hidden in Ancestry.com’s digital trove of historical documents. Off we go!

Using the search parameters: L.W. Taylor, Pittsburgh, born 1870, I found a 1910 census record among the results returned that shows an L. Wayne Taylor living on Wylie Avenue in Pittsburgh. L. Wayne and his brother, Merrill, worked as druggist. Today they would be called pharmacists. L. Wayne had a wife named Jennie. Jennie was 41 making her birth year 1869. L. Wayne and Jennie had a daughter, Cecil. This information – L.Wayne Taylor, Jennie, and of Pittsburgh – seems to match our known information. Is this our Aunt Jen ? If so, where did she come from? Did Nancy have a daughter we did not know about? Hmmm. To answer the first question – is this Aunt Jen – let’s head back to that digital trove of historical documents and enter the search parameters: Jennie Taylor, lived in Pittsburgh, PA, and the birth year 1869.

Wow! Would you look at what appeared in the results of our Ancestry.com search – a death certificate for Jennie Haney Taylor! And look at the names of her parents: Samuel Haney and Nancy Mansfield. So, Malissa Mansfield Slicker did have a sister, Jennie. And Jennie Haney Taylor was born March 17, 1869 in Webster, Pennsylvania. And the Haney family had lived in Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania for about twenty years.

Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Pennsylvania, USA; Pennsylvania (State). Death Certificates, 1906-1966; Certificate Number Range; 075151-078000. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1966 [database online].

So which sister was Jennie? Sarah or Eliza? Or did Nancy have another daughter of which I’m unaware? The answer to these question lies in the 1880 U.S. Censuses for Webster, Westmoreland County, PA.

1880 U. S. Census: Samuel and Nancy Mansfield Haney with children.

Samuel and Nancy Haney and children in the 1880 U.S. Census. This record can be found at http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 26, June 2018 for Samuel Haney (age 34), Webster, Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

Sarah was 13 in 1880. Her birth year was 1867. Eliza was eleven in 1880. Eliza was born in 1869; the same year as Jennie Haney Taylor. If we were to look at the Haney family in the 1870 U.S. census, we would see that Eliza was 1. There was no twin. It appears that Malissa’s half-sister, Eliza Haney, began using the name Jennie at some point in her life. So, now we know John Slicker had a sister-in-law named Jennie. And Sam Slicker was Aunt Jennie’s nephew. I also know this mystery photo landed in the hands of Aunt Jennie’s great-nephew, Leonard Floyd Slicker, my grandfather and son of Sam Slicker. What makes this story even more interesting is to know that Leonard Floyd shared his birthday – March 17th – with his great-Aunt Jennie.

What is disappointing about this story is without more evidence – such as more photos that clearly identify Aunt Jen – we cannot be one hundred percent certain that the woman wearing a black dress and white socks in the photo is Jennie Haney Taylor. And so as it is with the photo of four women sitting on a porch somewhere it is with so many old photos in the family album.

Do you have any photos of Aunt Jen to share and compare? Do you know the names of the other women in the photo? Do you know where this photo was taken? Do you have anything to add to Aunt Jen’s life story? If you have an answer to any of these questions, why not share in the comment section below or drop me an email?

Malissa Mansfield Slicker: Living in an Always Changing World – Part 3

January 28, 2018January 3, 2019 aslickerfamilyhistory John Slicker and Malissa Mansfield John Slicker, Melissa Mansfield Slicker, Nancy Haney, Nancy Mansfield, Samuel Haney, Samuel Slicker

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 25^th, 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 31^st, only five and half months before he and Malissa would have celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary. John was laid to rest on August 3^rd 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 8^th, 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 2^nd, 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 11^th, 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 8^th, 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.

Malissa Mansfield Slicker: Living In An Always Changing World – Part 2

January 8, 2018January 3, 2019 aslickerfamilyhistory John Slicker and Malissa Mansfield John Slicker, Malissa Mansfield, Malissa Slicker, Nancy Haney, Nancy Mansfield, Samuel Haney, Samuel John Slicker

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 1^st, 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 16^th, 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

Home of Samuel Haney in 1876. I have also marked the area where John and Malissa lived in 1880 after selling their property to John’s half-sister, Mary Steinogle. According to the 1880 census, John and Malissa moved near to John and Eva Vogel. The Vogel’s home is the other blue mark on the map. Eva was John’s half-sister. This map of North Webster was published in the Atlas of Westmoreland County in 1876; Publisher: Reading Publisher Company.

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 30^th, 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

John and Malissa Slicker 1900 U.S. Census record. — John and Malissa Slicker and children in the 1900 U.S. Census. This record can be found at http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 7, January 2018 for John Slicker (age 43), 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 16^th, 1905, Frank, the oldest son, married Estella Arnold. [22]Three years later, on September 8^th, 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).

John Slicker: Sells First Property to Mary, His Half-Sister

June 1, 2017August 28, 2017 aslickerfamilyhistory John Slicker and Malissa Mansfield Abraham Sharrow, John Slicker and Malissa Mansfield, John W. Slicker, Malissa Mansfield, Malissa Slicker, Mary Sharrow, Mary Stinogle, Samuel Haney

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

1880 Property Sale Grantor and Grantee — 1880 Property Deed – John Slicker and Malissa Slickers, Grantors and Mary Stinogle, Grantee. Source: Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Deed Book 101:439-441, John Slicker and Malissa Slicker to Mary Slicker, 28, January 1880; Recorder of Deeds, Greensburg.

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

1880 Desription of Property — This is the first part of the property description given in the 1880 deed. The rest of the description is given in the images below. Source: Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 101:439-441, John Slicker and Malissa Slicker to Mary Stinogle, 28, January 1880; Recorder of Deeds, Greensburg.

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

1880 Property Decription — This is a continuation of the property description started in the image above. Source: Ibid.

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

1880 Property Description — Continuing with the description started in the previous image of the property John and Malissa Slicker sold to Mary Stinogle in 1880. Source: Ibid.

…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

1876 Map of Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania — This is an 1876 map of the village of Webster, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The property Conrad and John purchased in 1873 is not on this map. However, John and Eva (step-sister of John Slicker) Vogel owned the highlighted property on the right. Samuel Haney, step-father of Malissa Mansfield Slicker, owned the highlighted property on the left. Source: Atlas of Westmoreland County 1876, Reading Publishing Company, 1876 (Public Domain).

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.

A Slicker Family History

Preserving. Sharing. Collaborating.

Samuel Haney