1938 GGY Obituary Provided Clue About Father of WHY
A statement in my grandfather George Grant Yarnall's 1938 obituary said
the following when describing relatives of my grandfather:
| "His father, William H. Yarnall, of Chester, PA was a Civil War veteran. He (William) was
a nephew of Colonel Norris Yarnall, a Civil War
veteran, who was well known in Chester and operated a textile mill at Front and Flower Streets 60 years ago. Yarnall Street in Chester
was named after the textile official." |
Extensive research by me revealed that Colonel Norris L. Yarnall (born 1812) had
two brothers - Mahlon (born 1804) and Eber (born 1811). So the word "nephew"
means to me that one of Norris' brothers fathered my great grandfather, William H. Yarnall.
Both Mahlon and Eber were single in 1839 when William H. was conceived.
| In 1844 Mahlon got married to Catherine Tobin when he was 40. Mahlon and Catherine had 3 daughters (Rebecca in 1848, Lydia Ellen in 1851, Hannah in 1852) and 2 sons (James in 1856, Norris L in 1858). He and his family were listed in the 1850 Middletown census, the 1860 Concord census, and in the 1870 Thornbury census. He was a factory worker in a paper mill. |
In 1848 Eber got married when he was 37. He married a girl (16 years younger than him) named Mary Ann Daily. Mary Ann had a son, James, in 1849. They were listed in the 1850 Concord census. His job was listed as a merchant. In the 1860 census Mary Ann was a widow listed with her 11 year old son. |
1850 Census Provided Clue About Mother of WHY
The 1850 census taken on 9/11/1850 lists William H. Yarnall
(age 12) living in Middletown, PA on a farm with Agnes Yarnall Webster (69) with two others. The census did not indicate relationships. On page 10 of the census there is no indication in the census about who was married or single. Agnes' husband William Webster was not listed in this household.
| Caleb Webster (age 32) as head of household and as
a farmer was listed. |
| Ruth Webster (age 31) was listed. |
This census prompted me to think about why William H.
Yarnall would be with Agnes Yarnall Webster. I would not learn that Ruth was the daughter of Agnes until a later census so I thought the brother and sister were married rather than siblings. I have constructed a logic chart for you to use to
decide who the parents of William H.
Yarnall were. I should have realized the youngster with the last name of Yarnall could not be a child of Ruth's.
Agnes was the sister of John Yarnall who had an unmarried
daughter named Eliza. When both John and Eliza died in April of 1843 apparently
Agnes (widowed in 1841) took in this little grand nephew. He would then be 3 sometime after July 29th based on his pension application entries (see clue below). Mahlon and Eber were second cousins of Eliza Yarnall. These relatives certainly could have easily visited from time to time back in 1839. Eber lived in Middletown and and Eliza lived in the adjacent town of Edgmont. I suspect he never knew who were his parents. He did not list any on his military application.
1890 Pension Application Provided Clue About WHY's Birth Date
William H. Yarnall was born sometime after July 29, 1840 based on information in his application for a United States Pension. The form shows he was 49 on July 29, 1890.
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The picture on the left shows what the USA looked like when WHY was born. There were only 26 states.
There was a presidential election the year my great grandfather was born.
A Whig (Harrison) defeated a Democrat (Van Buren). An electoral votes map is on the right.
Election details.
Notice how close the popular vote was even though the electoral college vote was very much in favor of the winner. |
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