Eight Siblings, No Spouses: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Solitude”

 

The Vanlandingham Singular Siblings: Six Bachelor Brothers and Two Spinster Sisters

Oliver Cromwell Vanlandingham: 1826-1905 (Maternal First Cousin 4x Removed)

Margaret Jane Weir: 1830-1915 (Maternal Second Great-Grandaunt)
Their Children, all Maternal double First Cousins 3x Removed:
            Samuel P. Vanlandingham: 1850-1925
            Oliver Cromwell Vanlandingham: 1854-1916
            Mary Elizabeth Vanlandingham: 1856-1900
            John D. Vanlandingham: 1858-1937
            Elias S. Vanlandingham: 1864-1943
            James A. Vanlandingham: 1865-1946
            William B. Vanlandingham: 1868-1944
            Margaret S. Vanlandingham: 1872-1937
 

Every large family has one or two siblings who never marry and never have children, but I have never encountered a family where all the children chose to go through life without partners and without having their own families. The eight children of Oliver Cromwell Vanlandingham II and Margaret Jane Weir spent most of their lives living with their parents and each other. They chose unwedded solitude, with only each other for companionship.

Oliver Cromwell Vanlandingham was born in Louisiana, and was named after his father, O. C., who later bought a cotton plantation there, but also owned land in Kentucky and Illinois. The family moved between those states during Oliver’s childhood. O.C. had two sisters who married men from Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Easter Vanlandingham married Francis Kimbley and had six children, and Elizabeth “Betsy” Vanlandingham married Samuel Miller Weir (parents of Lorene Jandy’s grandmother Nancy Vanlandingham Weir) and had seven children.

The three families probably socialized together frequently, which probably explains how Betsy’s youngest daughter Margaret Jane Weir ended up marrying her first cousin, Oliver Cromwell Vanlandingham II. The marriage of these true “kissing cousins” took place in Muhlenberg County on December 10, 1847. Margaret was 17; Oliver was 21.

 

Their first child, Ezekiel, was born a year later in December 1848, but died before his second birthday. The couple’s first surviving child, Samuel, was born in 1850. However, Margaret states on the 1910 census that she gave birth to eleven total children, so they probably lost at least two more children between Samuel’s birth and that of their final child, Margaret S., in 1872.  

I speculated that Margaret and Oliver’s close genetic relationship may have left the children of their marriage with brain defects or some genetic issue, which would have made them poor potential marriage partners. However, I found no evidence to support that. Census records show that all the siblings could read and write, and they worked together to operate a farm and support themselves. Two of the brothers, William and Oliver, also worked as carpenters. Additionally, recent research shows that first cousin marriages only increase birth defects by about 4-7 percent, so it is unlikely that the parents’ first cousin relationship caused some unidentified congenital problem.  

 

1910 Census showing Vanlandingham siblings

So we are left with no answers as to why these eight siblings chose to go through life without marrying. We don’t know if they had romantic relationships that failed before a marriage occurred, or if there was some problem with their upbringing that left them wary of marriage. I have found no obituaries for any of the eight, so I lack any details about their daily lives and community ties.

Whatever the reason for their choice to remain unwed, the Vanlandingham siblings’ unmarried state was unusual for their time and place in history. Their failure to wed and have children meant that their branch of the family tree ended with the death of the last of the eight siblings, James Vanlandingham, in 1946.

 

For All the Worst Reasons: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “In the News”

Suicide or Murder? Tragic Death of Essex Elam Leads to Speculation and Accusations

Essex Mason Elam: 1873 or 74-1909 (Maternal Second Cousin 3x Removed)

 

Essex Elam shared his father’s name, and his father’s short life. Like his father, he also made headlines, but for all the wrong reasons.

Essex Mason Elam was born following his father’s unexpected death in August 1873. He was the baby of the family, and grew up in a household headed by his mother, Lorene Smith’s cousin Mary Vanlandingham Elam, and his older brothers, William Day Elam and James O. Elam, who were over a decade older than Essex.  

In 1897, Essex married Eugenie Labadie. He was 23, while she was 19. By the 1900 census, he was working as an insurance agent, and the couple had a son, James Essex Elam, who was born August 18, 1898.

Just after little James’ ninth birthday in 1907, Eugenie died, leaving Essex a 33-year-old widower. Since he was working full-time at his insurance business, James went to live with Essex’s mother.

Essex began seeing a widow living in the area, a Mrs. Marguerite Landry. On October 8, 1909, he married Marguerite. Unfortunately, his family members did not approve of his new wife. We can get hints as to the family’s objections from the manner in which the newspapers described her. One reporter called her “a dashing young widow”. Another one wrote:

“Mrs. Elam is a handsome young woman. She is of the Spanish brunette type, with beautiful black hair and brown eyes…She came to Baton Rouge eight or nine years ago, but up to within a little over a year ago had not lived here. She was originally from New Orleans.”

An article in a New Orlean’s paper noted that she was the “niece and adopted daughter of the late Severin Sanchez of this city and is a beautiful woman of the Spanish type.”

The newspaper went on to describe Essex, subtly contrasting his background with the wild widow’s:

“Mr. Elam came from one of the best families in Baton Rouge. A little over a year ago his first wife died.” Another article noted, “Elam had been in the insurance business, was regarded as a model of sobriety, and almost as a ‘working machine’.”

Obviously the family suspected Marguerite was a fortune hunter, leaving the wilder city of New Orleans and turning up in Baton Rouge just after Eugenie’s death to entice the lonely widower. “Dashing” is probably a euphemism for sexy and provocative. In addition, in post-war Baton Rouge, marrying a woman with dark hair and eyes and possibly a “Spanish” complexion would have been considered quite risqué. Marrying someone of a different skin tone and culture was “beyond the pale”, so to speak. Essex had taken his new bride over to his mother’s house after the ceremony, apparently intent on introducing her to his son and making arrangements to move the boy to the rented rooms where they planned to live. An argument apparently ensued. The newspaper describes the situation as follows:

“Mr. Elam was married shortly after 6 o’clock yesterday evening by Father Solignac. After the marriage he went to the home of his family. They declined to receive in their home the woman whom he had married. Mr. Elam wanted to take his boy home with him, but the little fellow cried to stay with his grandmother.”   

It is all too easy to imagine this ugly scene. Mary Vanlandingham Elam had once been at the top of the social ladder in Baton Rouge, wife of the mayor and friends with the richest and most influential people in the state. And here was her son, married to an upstart of dubious origins. Even though Mary’s social standing and wealth had diminished following her husband’s death, she probably still considered herself superior to the average Baton Rouge resident. She must have been livid.

Essex apparently took the rejection poorly. The headline the following morning read “Twelve Hour Groom Suicides—No Cause Given for Rash Act”.

According to the new Mrs. Elam, Essex woke fretting over not being able to see his son. He asked her to make him coffee, and while she was in the kitchen he shot himself with a handgun.

Sounds straightforward, right?

The family pointed out some curious elements of Marguerite’s story, which were backed up by evidence at the inquest.

“No pistol was found by Mr. Elam’s side when neighbors came over to render assistance. L. S. Harrell, who was the first outside party called in, said the body was nearly cold when he got in the room and that the man had no pulse at all.”

The new wife had an interesting explanation for the missing gun. She testified, “Mr. Elam had always said that he was going to kill himself and that he would take me with him. It was for this reason that I took the pistol away from him and put it in the armour. ..As I got near the room (after hearing the shot) I saw Mr. Elam falling, with a pistol in his hand. He had always said that we would die together. I thought that after shooting himself he was going to try to shoot me, and I attempted to take the ‘gun’ away from him.”

She was asked where the gun had come from, and she claimed, “It belonged to the house. I had it in the top of the wardrobe. I don’t know how he ever found it.”

I certainly understand why his family was suspicious. Why in the world would you hide the gun? Her excuse is pathetic. She claimed to have gone for help immediately, within five minutes of the shot, so how was the body already cold when the help arrived? She claimed that Essex spoke to her before she sought help, yet he had no pulse and seemed to have been dead for a while when neighbors arrived. And why would the rented rooms come with a gun? And why was she in charge of it?

And the biggest question of all: why had she married a man who repeatedly threatened to kill both her and himself? It makes no sense whatsoever.

The Elam family also told the press the angle of the shot made the suicide claim shaky. “The fact that he was shot in the stomach, and that the bullet ranged upward toward the left shoulder, is regarded as the most suspicious. It is claimed that a suicide would never shoot himself in the position that Elam did, and if he did it would be almost a physical impossibility for him to fire a shot himself that would range upward to the heart.”

Brought before a grand jury, the widow stated that “Mr. Elam had threatened often to take his own life, and had told his family that he was going to kill himself.” The news report stated “there are a number of persons who say that they have heard him declared that he intended to commit suicide.”

However, there was also some suspicion cast against the rental home’s owners, a Mr. and Mrs. Turnley. According to Mrs. Turnley, “her husband had come home at midnight, but had left shortly afterward on a hunt, and she declared that he was not at the house at the time of the tragedy…The pistol with which Elam is supposed to have killed himself did not belong to him, but belonged to ‘the house’. “ To further complicate things, Mr. Turnley abandoned his wife following the Elam suicide. Is it possible the two men fought and Elam was shot in the struggle?

Despite all the red flags, the grand jury agreed with the authorities and returned a verdict of suicide. Perhaps they were as taken with the young widow as poor Essex had been.

The widow took out her anger at the Elam family by initially refusing to release Essex’s body to them for burial. However, she eventually relented, probably because she didn’t want to pay for a funeral herself.

This tale leaves me with so many questions. Did Essex really tell his mother and family that he was going to kill himself if they wouldn’t let him see his son? If poor little James heard him make such a threat, no wonder he was crying and refused to leave his grandmother’s house. Did Marguerite decide to use Essex’s suicide threats to her advantage and murder him? What was really going on with the Turnleys, the home’s owners? What was the true nature of Essex’s emotional state—was he really a sober “working machine” or a wild, erratic depressive? What happened to his estate? Did Marguerite ever get any money? Where did she go after this horrible incident? Back to New Orleans?

Essex’s family was obviously ashamed of his tragic death and the adverse publicity that swirled around it. This was not how they wanted the family to be “in the news”. They buried him in an unmarked grave in Magnolia Cemetery in Baton Rouge.

Little James Essex came to be known as “Essex” in memory of his father. He attended boarding school in Pineville, and lived with his grandmother during school breaks. As an adult, he moved to Oklahoma where he worked as an engineer. He married an Oklahoma woman and had a daughter, and lived until 1972.

Sources:

“Twelve Hour Groom Suicides” The Town Talk, Alexandria, Louisiana · Saturday, October 09, 1909 https://www.newspapers.com/

“Funeral of Essex Elam” The Town Talk, Alexandria, Louisiana · Tuesday, October 12, 1909

“Elam’s Relatives Not Convinced” Weekly Town Talk, 23 Oct 1909, Sat · Page 4 https://www.newspapers.com/image/212972446/?terms=essex%20elam&match=1

“Tragic End of a Newly Wed Husband” St. Landry Clarion, Opelousas, Louisiana · Saturday, October 16, 1909. https://www.newspapers.com/image/174380518/?terms=essex%20elam&match=1

“Story of the Suicide: Full Account of Sad Death of Essex Elam.” Weekly Town Talk, Alexandria, Louisiana · Saturday, October 16, 1909 https://www.newspapers.com/image/212972431/?terms=essex%20elam&match=1

“Did Not Change Verdict”, The Town Talk, Alexandria, Louisiana · Friday, November 12, 1909. https://www.newspapers.com/image/213475233/?terms=essex%20elam&match=1

“Affidavit of Non-Support against T.B.Turnley” The Times, Shreveport, Louisiana. 04 Nov 1909, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116350880/turnley

“Bullet in His Heart: Sensational Suicide in Baton Rouge.” The Times Democrat, New Orleans La, Sunday October 10, 1909

Louisiana Politics During Reconstruction: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Outcast”

Mayor of Baton Rouge Before and After the Civil War: A Dangerous Political Landscape

James Essex Elam: 1829-1873 (Husband of Maternal First Cousin 4x Removed)
Mary S. Vanlandingham Elam: 1838-1916 (Maternal First Cousin 4x Removed)

 

January 2023 turned out to be a serendipitous time to be researching O.C. Vanlandingham’s children. One of my book clubs chose Gone with the Wind as their January selection, and the Vanlandinghams’ journey had some parallels to Scarlett O’Hara’s. The end of Scarlett’s story takes place during Reconstruction, as the victorious North attempted to control and manipulate the breakaway states through martial law, brutal taxation and ballot box schemes. This same scenario played out in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Mary Vanlandingham’s husband was re-elected to the post of mayor that he’d held before the Civil War, and was then thrown out of office in a conflict between the white, Old South Democratic party and the Republican Party, controlled by Northern carpetbaggers, Southern scammers, and buoyed by the votes of newly freed and easily manipulated black residents.

Mary Vanlandingham was born to Oliver Cromwell Vanlandingham and his wife Margaret Drake on May 22, 1838. She was the sixth of their seven children. After her father bought a large cotton plantation about eight to ten miles from Baton Rouge some time before 1851, he also acquired a home in the city where Mary spent part of her childhood.

Mary met an ambitious young attorney by the name of James Essex Elam, the son of another prominent Baton Rouge attorney, James Mason Elam, who died in 1856. In addition to practicing law, James Essex was elected mayor of Baton Rouge in 1859. He and Mary were married on April 20, 1860. I am sure Mary’s family was pleased to have an able young politician in the family. Mary took on great responsibility at only 22, becoming the first lady of Louisiana’s capital city, which probably entailed serving as hostess to the city’s rich and politically powerful.

James Mason Elam, father of James Essex Elam

James’ first mayoral term ended in early 1862, just before the Civil War. His successor, Mayor Holt, had barely assumed office when he was forced to flee along with state government officials just ahead of the arrival of Union troops in April 1862.  The city remained in Union hands for the rest of the war.

It does not appear that James Essex Elam served in the Confederate Army—I have found no records to suggest he enlisted, even when the Confederates tried to retake the city in the summer of 1862. It is unclear if the Elam family, which by then included an infant son, James, also fled before Union occupation, or if they remained in the hope of protecting their home and James’ law practice. Much of the city was heavily damaged during the battle for the city, as seen below.

Andrew Lytle photo of rubble following Battle of Baton Rouge, 1862

The Union commander in charge of the occupation of Baton Rouge appointed a new mayor in the interim, who held office (but not much power) from 1862-1865. Once the war was over, however, that mayor resigned to serve in the state legislature.

James E. Elam was appointed mayor in 1865 by then-Governor Wells. James ran for re-election in 1867, but the election was cancelled by order of General Sheridan to comply with the terms of the new Reconstruction Act.  James remained in office as an appointee mayor until 1869.

This initial post-war period must have required careful maneuvering on James’ part to govern, caught between the demands of the occupying forces, the demands by newly freed slaves for their rights, and the desire of the beaten Confederates to regain their pre-war power and security. James and Mary added two more children to their family during this four year mayoral term, son William in 1863 and daughter Mary Rebecca in 1867.

Subsequent elections came fast and furious. After James stepped down as the Democratic mayor in 1869, another Democrat by the name of Skolfield took office for a one-year period, 1869-1870. Then James Elam was re-elected mayor in 1870, holding office for a year as well.

Then came the worst of the Reconstruction period’s conflict in Baton Rouge. The 1871 election was a contested one, with election fraud on both sides. James Elam ran as the Democratic candidate, but the winner of the election by a margin of just 15 votes was an African American business owner named Loyeau Berhel. The Wikipedia entry on Baton Rouge mayors provides some context:

“Multiple mayoral elections during the Reconstruction Era were disputed. After the 1871 election Gov. Henry Clay Warmoth did what he legally could from the temporary capitol in New Orleans to briefly prop up the new African American Republican mayor, who was facing an overwhelmingly Democratic-controlled board of selectmen: 254 —but in 1872 Warmoth himself was facing a mounting impeachment effort and forced to broaden what remained of his support by reaching out to Democrats who had a much more solid base in Louisiana than the Republicans did; he declared the disputed 1872 election results null and void, and awarded the state's commission to the Democratic candidate. Ultimately, the 1872–73 term essentially ended up with two separately-functioning city governments, one recognized primarily by African American and pro-Union white Republicans (including so-called "carpetbaggers" and "scalawags") and one recognized primarily by native white Democrats.”

The New Orleans Republic newspaper summarized the elections results as follows:

“The two candidates were of our most popular class of citizens. Hon. J. E. Elam is an old resident of Baton Rouge, a gentleman of excellent social qualities, and in point of competency is fitted for the position; indeed, he has held it for many years….

Mr. Berhel, the Mayor elect, is a colored gentleman of ability, and one of the few of that class who has the esteem of all who intimately know him.

The result of our municipal election is not exactly as we desired, but we can not complain. The council consists of men of business experience, who will no doubt control the affairs of the city with an eye to economy and prosperity.”

The newspaper, despite being the mouthpiece of the Republicans in New Orleans, made clear their lack of respect for the new mayor, complimenting him as “a colored man of ability”, subtly hinting that he was able among colored men, not men in general, and that his ability was a rarity: “one of the few of that class…” Contrast this faint praise to the way James Elam was described, as a “gentleman” of “excellent social qualities” and “competency”. In other words, he was the sort of man who should be in such a position, if only he hadn’t been a Confederate and thus in need of “reconstruction”.

The newspaper also points out that the city council is composed of “men of business experience”, i.e. wealthy white people, who will “control the affairs of the city”. In other words, the white residents of Baton Rouge have nothing to fear from a black mayor because the real control of the city will rest in the hands of the white council.

Poor Mayor Berhal barely lasted a year before James Elam returned to office. However, this didn’t bring peace to the city. The 1872 election was equally contentious, even though the Republican candidate was now a white man, Henry Schorten. As mentioned in the Wikipedia quote above, both Schorten and Elam claimed to have won, and two separate city administrations were set up. The official vote totals were 396 for Elam and 499 for Schorten, but the Democrats claimed there were voting irregularities. Elam was the incumbent and refused to vacate office.

While Mayor Elam was out of town in March 1873, Schorten and his supporters actually broke into City Hall. According to the New Orleans Republican news report,

“Schorten,…with a party of his adherents, took forcible possession of the City Hall, declared all the offices vacant and proceeded to fill them ad libitum. Their police, however, were disarmed and arrested by the regular force.”

Mayor Elam did not remain in office for long, however. Backroom negotiations were in progress. According to Wikipedia,

“African American state senator J. Henri Burch, a prominent area Republican, met with Elam, and they negotiated a compromise where Elam would resign his position and support new governor William Pitt Kellogg's appointment of the Republican incumbent to the mayor's seat—along with three Republicans and three Democrats to the city council (as selected by a conference committee). This compromise was largely acceptable to both sides (very rare for Reconstruction), although a rogue faction of the Democrats did attempt to hold their own election for the council (which failed to draw many to the polls and apparently quickly faded away).

James Elam resigned on March 27, 1873. The Republican newspaper started their report as follows:

“For some time past Baton Rouge has been in a state of ferment, owing to the contention between rival claimants—Republicans on the one side and Democrats on the other—for possession of the city government. Violence, in one or two instances, has been resorted to and the peace and safety of the city constantly kept in jeopardy…

We are happy to announce the desirable end has been reached in a definite and practical form, which is in the highest degree complimentary to the patriotism and sound sense of the Senator and those associated with him in the management of the delicate negotiations.”

James Elam’s political career had obviously placed him under immense pressure and strain. His health may have been damaged as a result of the stress. Just months after leaving office, he suddenly died on July 31, 1873. He was only 43 years old.

Despite his long political career, I can find no obituaries for him. Newspapers were under close military control during Reconstruction, so probably they were reluctant to laud him in death and risk offending Republican power brokers. The Times-Picayune notice was the most complimentary, stating that “Mr. Elam has held many positions of honor and trust in that city and was universally esteemed. He had enjoyed the respect of every individual in the community during his long public career.”  

Despite being cast out of office on more than one occasion, James Essex Elam was honored for his service in death. He left his widow, Mary Vanlandingham Essex, who lived another 43 years after his death, and five children, one of whom was born after his death. He was buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Baton Rouge. If  his grave bears a stone, there are no photos of it online. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_of_Baton_Rouge,_Louisiana

“Baton Rouge Election”. New Orleans Republican. April 14, 1871. Accessed on Newspapers.com

New Orleans Republican. New Orleans, LA. March 28, 1873. Accessed on Newspapers.com

Election results. The Opelousas Journal. Opalousas, LA April 20 1872.     https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

"Peace In Baton Rouge: The Lion and the Lamb Lie Down Together—Practical Compromise and Happy Results". New Orleans Republican (p. 1). April 3, 1873.

“Death of Hon. James E. Elam.” New Orleans Times-Picayune. New Orleans, LA. August 1, 1873.