About / Contact
CONTACT
Contact me at evermore.contact @gmail.com
ABOUT
This blog serves several interests: the 19th century Alphadelphia Association, a socialist community in Michigan; the town of Liberal, Missouri as it was established in 1880 as community for freethinkers; the family lines given below.
I’m looking for stories and photos from individuals whose families were members of the Alphadelphia Association, as well as those were among the freethought settlers of Liberal, Missouri. It’s my assumption that these Fourier and Freethought individuals may have had ties with multiple utopian communities and I’d love to learn the histories of others, how their families got to Liberal or Alphadelphia.
Also, stories and photos are welcome from any of the family lines given further down. Some incredible materials have been sent to me over the years–photos, letters, histories, poetry, and even an unpublished 19th century freethought novella written by an extended relation. What can seem like a minor story or trivial data may be precious information for another.
I’m especially eager to hear from individuals studying the McKenneys who originated out of the Belmont/Guernsey/Harrison/Monroe Counties of Ohio. Very few people seem to be doing research on these McKenney families and they had multiple, as yet unidentified (as far as I can find) siblings listed in the 1830 and 1840 censuses, yet by the 1850s it appears the McKenney/McKinney name was already well on its way out of the area. Who were these individuals? I’ve thus far been able to identify only a few and haven’t yet been able to make parental connections. Please contact me if you are a descendant or have information.
Other areas of interest are Van Buren County, Iowa and Chautauqua County, Kansas, as multiple families in the McKenney/accessory lines settled in these places early on and remained for an extended period of time. The same with Boone County, Missouri for the Crockett family and associated lines.
This website hosts family trees in which primary lines are McKenney, Sparks, Crockett, and Hackney families, the Noyes and Brewer families, the McClure, Warren, Mitchell and Craig families, the Kearns, Crabtree, Hennesy, and Simmons families.
The Kearns, Crabtree, Hennesy, and Simmons lines are those of my husband and are all southern. My lines, predating the Civil War, are mostly northern with a few in Missouri. My work has principally been on families after immigration to the U.S. Many lines are taken to the point where ancestors who immigrated may be found online elsewhere or at Rootsweb.
don’t have a comment but would love to be able to contact nancy benton about the brewers on the web site. my husband is a direct decendent. would love to know if there are more pictures of the brewers and noyes.
What a fascinating site! I was working on a short article today about the history of Liberal, Missouri, for an e-zine in which I have a column. Came across your site and thought my little effort quite inadequate (although I’ll still complete it).
My mother’s family has lived in Barton County since the 1890s and in Missouri since the 1790s. In the Liberal area, my grandfather Earnest John Percy raised his family, first at Iantha, later at Liberal where I many times went as a child to visit him. Never heard a whisper about Liberal’s history as a radical social experiment. The Percy’s are not intellectuals. However, that being said, I personally am a humanist Unitarian Universalist and thoroughly delighted to learn why Liberal has streets named for Charles Darwin (a Unitarian) and Robert Ingersoll (a Humanist).
None of my various family lines coincides with any of yours, but we share Missouri roots and (evidently) an interest in the history of Freethought in America.
A question – can you tell me who Payne Street in Liberal was named for? I have supposed it was Peter Payne, the 15th-century Lollard and Taborite; but it could just as easily (and more likely) be a misspelling of Thomas Paine’s name. I doubt Walser would have ever heard of Peter Payne, but he would have grown up reading Thomas Paine’s writings.
You’re perhaps right, that Payne is a misspelling of Thomas Paine. I seem to have misplaced again my “Strange Town of Liberal” book or else I’d try looking it up in there (though there’s no index), and O. E. Harmon’s book doesn’t give a clue.
Glad you enjoyed the site. My Noyes family didn’t arrive in Missouri until the 1880s, and the Brewers came in not much earlier, but on my father’s side the Crocketts were in Boone County by the 1820s. None as early as yours which I’ve always kind of regretted as that period of time is fascinating.
Yes, am interested in the history of Freethought in America. It was quite a wonderful surprise when a distant relation sent me an unpublished freethought manuscript from the 1870s that was written by a cousin of one of my ancestors on my McKenney side of the family. Have that up on the website as well. By Samuel Bartow McKenney.
Met my husband in the UU’s LRY back in the 70s.
This is lovely! It’s nice to have a story to tell. I am also doing my Brower/Brewer roots and do have some additional info for Mary Catherine Brewer Spurling Roades Trent. She was b. Jan 10, 1872 in St. Paul, KS and died Dec 12, 1957 in Liberal, MO. Buried in Englevale Cemetery in Englevale, KS
Robert Lincoln Trent was b. Apr 5, 1878 in Galesburg, KS and died Feb 10, 1958 in Liberal, MO. Buried in Forest Chapel Cemetery in Greenfield, MO.
The info is from their death certificates.
Thank you, Barbara. Glad you found the website and commented with your information. I appreciate it and am updating.
I am so glad that I stumbled onto this site. I am researching my husbands family. His grandfather was Floyd E McMahon and is wife was Syble C Rumery. Floyd’s father was Edward H McMahon and his mother was Katherine Ann McCormick. Katherine was married several times. The last time to a man by the last name of Walker. Do you have any information on this?
Thank you for your time and effort,
Linda
Linda, all the info I have on Katherine, most of which I put together through census research, is on the site, sorry. I wasn’t even aware she was married several times. Would you mind passing along the names of the other individuals to whom she was married? I was unable to find Katherine on the 1920 and 1930 censuses and if I knew these names I’d likely be able to fill out this information.
I am a retired teacher in Walnut, IL. I am researching some elements of the history of Bureau County, IL. Of special interest is any information relating to the Lamoille Agricultural and Mechanical Association (possibly AKA as: the Bureau County Phalanx). Any information would be greatly appreciated.
212 E. Walnut St. 815-379-2279
Walnut, IL. 61376
Sorry, Bob, to my knowledge I’ve nothing on that.
This is a very good website of information, would like to learn more on family history. I also have alot of information on the mckenney side.
Pat, it’s your cousin, Juli. Would love to share information with you. Let me know what you’re looking to find and I can direct you to it here. And I’ve got more besides that I’ve not put up yet. And would love to hear what information you have that I might not. I know your family has some old photos that I don’t have. Did you see the ones of Eli McKenney that I have up? I have two. Step brother of our G. W. Jr. Even have one of Eli, Addie and G. W. Jr. that someone sent me. That was a nice surprise!
Hi Juli,I work out of town alot, sorry not to get back sooner i will get the pitcures we have and see if you can us them.
I wasn’t sure if you still link to the http://www.ohiodiary1872.com Web (Diary of Thomas Smith – Harrison County, Ohio) site but, if so, wanted to let you know the URL has changed to http://ohiodiary1872.weebly.com/index.html
Wishing you a Happy and Blessed 2012!
Carol
Carol, thanks. My sidebar links were all lost during a recent major blog change in the summer. I’ve put in your link. Thanks for sending the change!
I am just beginning my research and am so excited to have found your website. I am the daughter of John Terrance Reynolds JR decedent of John Peter Reynolds and Catherine Ann Kearns from Roscommon. I have a death date for Mary Phoebe Reynolds, my paternal grandmother: dec 9, 1972. I was 10 Yeats old when she died.
I would love to learn more about John Peter Reynolds and Elizabeth Ann Kearns and their parents if anyone has done this research.
Kelly, good to hear from you!
I have John Terrance Reynolds parents as (John) Peter Reynolds and Elizabeth Ann Kearns, and this is seen in the census.
http://evermore.imagedjinn.com/blg/3283/peter-reynolds-and-elizabeth-eliza-ann-kearns/
Now, Elizabeth’s parents were John Kearns and Catherine McNulty.
http://evermore.imagedjinn.com/blg/1668/john-kearns-and-catherine-mcnulty/
I’ve been told that Patrick McNulty was a cousin or uncle to Catherine McNulty. No one knew which at the time and I’ve been unable to find any more information on them back in Ireland. So what you see on this website for the Kearns, up to when they came from Ireland, is all I’ve got. If you find anyone else who has done research that takes them back further I would love to know about it as well.
Might you have happened to have any pictures of the Kearns passed down through your family? We have zero. Not a one.
The image of Robert Carhart Mitchell made me melt. He is my grandfather. He died 2 years before my birth.
I have little or no info about him. My dad was adopted by RCM and his wife Katherine in 1944. therefore there is no blood relation. I would love to communicate with you on this .
thanks, Rob Mitchell
Dear Rob Mitchell: Hope you see this. We are cousins. James Bourne Mitchell was my great great grandfather. I can’t remember whose kid RCM was , but Orlando Mitchell, who you can see in some of the research here was my great grandfather. I think I have at least a little information about your family and maybe some pictures, but not sure. Please contact me if you are interested. mitchbeatohio@gmail.com. Jim Mitchell
Hi, Rob, thanks for writing. I’ll get back to you offline. Am talking to my mom now for any info on Bob.