Thomas and Amanda Green, part 2

In part 1 of my review of Thomas and Amanda Green’s family we found five children living with them in 1870:

1. Julia M Green, born about 1857 in Michigan
2. George R Green, born about 1859 in Ohio
3. Cynthia L Green, born about 1863 in Michigan
4. Emma M Green, born about 1868 in Michigan
5. Rowena Green, born in May 1870 in Michigan

Rowena Green married

1. John C Hodges at Carson City, Montcalm County, Michigan on 14 November 1886. They were parents of William Hodges.
2. Charles L Powers at Stanton, Montcalm County on 1 November 1893. They were parents of Ervin and Olive Powers.
3. Stephen Loucks at Stanton on 6 May 1901. They were parents of Adelaide and Ernest Loucks.
4. Charles M Stanton at St. Johns, Clinton County on 23 August 1913.
5. Charles Sidney Childs at Big Rapids, Mecosta County on 19 August 1918.

Rowena Childs died on 17 July 1945 in Lebanon, Clinton County, Michigan. Her parents were identified as Tom Green and [unknown] Green.

Emma L [yes, I know the initial is not the same as in the 1870 census] Green married

1. William A Marsh about 1883. They were parents of Thomas, Alger, Anna, Lula, Fidelia, George, Frank, and Emma Loretta Marsh. William had at least four sons, Martin, William, John, and Edgar, with his first wife Marian Claus.
2. William N. Jeffrey on 18 October 1916 at Stanton, Michigan.

Emma L Jeffrey died on 24 March 1939 at St. Louis, Gratiot County, Michigan. Her parents were identified as Thomas Green, born in New York, and Amanda Brown, born in Ohio. The informant for personal information was Mrs. Stella Jeffery of Belding. Emma was buried in the Sheridan Cemetery.

Cynthia Loretta Green, my great-grandmother, might well have been named after Thomas’s mother Cynthia Ames. She married

1. John Wesley Criss on 28 February 1877 in New Haven, Gratiot County. They were parents of Stella Maria or Maria Stella Criss, who died at age 2. Loretta was reported to be 15 years old at the time of her marriage, but might have been a year younger. Martha Brown was a witness to the marriage. Was Martha related to Amanda Green?
2. Edwin Case about 1883. They were parents of Avey, Frank, Elsie, Charles, John, Goldy Verda (my grandmother), and Theodore “Pete” Case.

Loretta Case died on 19 March 1930 in Sheridan Township, Mecosta County, Michigan. Her parents were identified as Thomas Green, born in New York, and Amanda Brown, born in Ohio. The informant was Edwin Case.

George Robert Clark married Laura M Rees on 23 December 1888 in Bloomer, Montcalm County, Michigan. They were parents of Ethel Rosella and Goldia Leila Clark. George died on 26 January 1913 in Deerfield, Isabella County, Michigan. His parents were identified as John Clark, born in Ohio, and Amanda Brown, born in Meaden, Ohio. The informant was Mrs. Geo. R Clark.

By now you’ve noticed that although Thomas and Amanda Green raised George, Thomas was not his birth father. Nor, we shall see, was he Julia’s. Given that George’s date of birth is stated as 20 January 1859, it appears likely that Thomas and Amanda were married in 1859 or early 1860, not in 1855 as reported by Amanda’s obituary. If they were married in 1855, they must have gone their separate ways for a few years before settling down together. While possible, that seems less likely.

Julia N Clark married

1. Lorenzo Bruce on 30 November 1873 at New Haven Center, Gratiot County, Michigan. They were parents of an unnamed daughter who died shortly after birth.
2. Augustus Wiser about 1874. They were parents of Ida, Sara, Nora, Charles, Lewis, Maud, Mae Lucinda, William, and Olive Wiser.

Julia Wiser died on 1 July 1935 in Alma, Gratiot County, Michigan. Her parents were identified as Rene Clark, born in France, and Amanda Brown, birthplace unknown. The informant was Lewis Wiser of Alma.

We still haven’t answered the question of Julia’s whereabouts in the 1860 census when she was only a few years old. Knowing that she was born as Julia Clark, she appears to have been resident in the household of Bradford and Loretta Wager in North Plains, Ionia County. Bradford and Loretta were both born in New York. Perhaps they came to North Plains in some connection with Thomas Green and Amos Dodge. Was Loretta a namesake for Cynthia Loretta Green? In addition to Julia N Clark, we find Marian Tyfield, 16, born in Michigan and Amos Brown, 20, born in Ohio. Was Amos Brown related to Martha Brown and Amanda Green?

Where was John or Rene Clark in 1860? Where was he born? Might he have been an itinerant lumberjack born in French Canada with a name like Jean Rene? If I remember correctly, my grandmother Verda Olsen told me that her family’s recollection had Amanda working as a cook in a lumber camp near Carson City. It might be time for me to listen to my 1981 interview with Grandma Olsen again.

This exploration of collateral ancestors, siblings of Loretta Case, demonstrates how we can learn more about the families that our direct ancestors lived in and sometimes find new paths to earlier generations as a result. Fleshing out our ancestors’ families definitely raises more questions that can launch new research. Furthermore, descendants of collateral ancestors might have family artifacts and information of which we aren’t aware. Additionally, these distant cousins might show up as matches in DNA testing.

Thomas and Amanda’s death notices in the Greenville Independent provide a little context for their world at the time of their passing. Access to these newspapers is provided through the Flat River Community Library’s research collections.

• Amanda’s death notice was published on April 25, 1906, on page 1, column 6.
• Thomas’s death notice was published on January 4, 1911, on page 1, column 7.