An Easter Story: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Begins with a Vowel”

A Girl Called Easter: Unusual Name for a Spring Baby

Easter Brumley Vanlandingham Kimbley: 1782-1847 (Maternal Third Great-Grandaunt)

 

Easter Brumley Vanlandingham was given a striking, unusual first name—a name that was often misspelled and misrecorded as “Esther” on documents and records. Her name begins with two vowels (corresponding with this week’s prompt), and evokes positive energy that seems to promise new beginnings.

Easter Vanlandingham was born April 30, 1782 in St. Stephen South Parish in Northumberland, Virginia. According to my research, the holiday of Easter fell on March 31 that year. Did her parents, Ezekiel Vanlandingham and Elisabeth Oliver Brumley, name her Easter due to her spring birth date, just 4 weeks after Easter Sunday? Had they perhaps expected her to be born on Easter, and were surprised that she didn’t arrive when expected? Did they choose the name as a reminder of the Easter story’s message of rebirth and renewal? We will never know.

Easter appears to be the oldest of their three children. I have found no primary source materials that provide Ezekiel and Elizabeth’s wedding date; some secondary sources gave a marriage date for the fall following Easter’s birth, which is incorrect. The record of her birth is contained in Virginia Colonial Abstracts, and lists her parents as husband and wife. Easter’s siblings, Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Vanlandingham, were born in 1785 and 1788.

In 1796, the Vanlandinghams joined a group of pioneers headed for the newly opened Kentucky territory. Ezekiel died during the journey, leaving his wife and three children to continue to Kentucky without him. A history of  Muhlenberg County, Kentucky reported that:

“After burying her husband Mrs. Vanlandingham and the other members of the party resumed their trip and finally arrived near Paradise where she procured some land. There she and her…children worked hard and soon placed themselves in comfortable circumstances. She was a well-educated woman, and up to about the time her children were married devoted practically all her evenings to their education.”

Easter was 14 when she arrived in Kentucky. Her youngest sister was only 8, so Easter probably helped to care for her. In addition, her mother remarried and had other children. Easter was probably a vital member of the household, providing support for her mother.

This probably explains Easter’s late marriage. She was 30 years old when she married Francis Kimbley on February 14, 1813.  He was only twenty at the time of the marriage, so she was a full decade older than him! Some later documents shave a few years off her age—she probably didn’t want to admit how much older she was! Her younger sister, Elizabeth, married the same year.

Francis Kimbley was a farmer and slaveowner. His property was mostly in Ohio County, Kentucky, but Easter and Francis’s children were born both in Ohio County and neighboring Muhlenberg County, so I expect the Kimbleys had property in both counties.

Easter gave birth to their first son, Oliver Christopher Vanlandingham Kimbley (named for Easter’s brother) on December 23, 1813—ten months after their marriage. Daughter Elizabeth was born two years later, followed by sons Ezekiel Vanlandingham Kimbley in 1817, Andrew Jackson Kimbley in 1819, Francis Edward Kimbley in 1822, and John Franklin Kimbley in 1823.

Easter died on Christmas Day, 1847 at the age 65. She was buried in Nellie Davis Cemetery in Ohio County, Kentucky. Her husband Francis lived another fourteen years, dying in 1861 at age 70.

Easter’s children went on to raise families of their own in the Ohio and Muhlenberg County area. The 1860 census shows son Ezekiel, his wife and three children living next to Francis, and son Andrew Jackson Kimbley, his wife and three children farming on the other side of Francis’ property. 

Son Francis Kimbley a few farms from brother and father--1860 Census

Ezekiel Kimbley family, and father Francis on the 1860 census

Two properties away was the farm of Oliver Kimbley’s widow Elizabeth and their four children.  A few farms away, son Francis lived with his wife and children.

Andrew Kimbley family at top, Oliver's widow Elizabeth Kimbley and family below

Interestingly, Easter’s only daughter, Elizabeth, married John Everett Vaught Smith, brother of second-great-grandfather Elijah Smith, so the two ancestral lines crossed. Elizabeth and John had several children and lived in neighboring Mclean County, Kentucky.

Easter’s final child was the most well-known, and the only one who didn’t go into farming. John Franklin Kimbley became a doctor, and he served as a Union physician during the Civil War. He returned to Owensboro, Kentucky following the war to practice medicine. He married Sarah Lucetta Ray, the daughter of Indiana Governor James Ray. The couple had two children.

Easter’s name was carried on to the next generation. Easter’s daughter named one of her children Easter, but the name was often misspelled as Esther—even her headstone reads “Esther Smith Kirtley”. 

Easter Smith Kirtley misspelled as Esther

Son Ezekiel gave his daughter Susan the middle name Easter. Son Francis Kimbley named his eldest daughter Easter Ann in honor of his mother.

I wonder how these women felt about sharing a name with a religious holiday. I love the name, and enjoyed writing about Easter Vanlandingham Kimbley just in time for Easter 2023. Easter is a name rich both in vowels and in meaning.

Sources:

Abstract of Birth Record from “Virginia Colonial Abstracts. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/340765:48429?tid=81812584&pid=262448858851&hid=1037581386036&_phsrc=Jng22546&_phstart=default

A History of Muhlenberg County by Otto A. Rothert. John P. Morton & Company. Louisville, KY 1913. Accessed through Google Books

Findagrave photo by Anita Austill. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109614346/esther-elizabeth-kirtley?_gl=1*27c0ny*_ga*MTQ5MDkwODUzMi4xNjI2MjI0NDE0*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MzY4MzVkNTItZThlYy00MDE3LWE0M2MtNDY3ZDFiNzg2MzJmLjQ3NC4xLjE2ODAzMDU3NTIuMjQuMC4w

Murdered By Her Husband: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Light a Candle”

 

A Vicious Crime Destroys a Family: The Murder of Lydia Smith Calvert

Lydia Jane Smith Calvert: 1807-1840 (Maternal First Cousin 4x Removed)

Late in June of 1840, George Rudolphus Smith (Third Great Granduncle) was near death. He was almost seventy years old—not a great age, but he may have been feeling ill for some time since he had made his will some months previously. He was confident that his children would be provided for once he had died. One of the heirs named in his will was his daughter Lydia. George probably had no idea that Lydia, a mother of five who was only 33 years old, would be murdered by her own husband just weeks after George’s death. Not only were her five little children suddenly left without their mother, but they also lost their maternal grandfather, and their paternal grandmother, who died right after Lydia did. And they also lost their father after he was indicted for Lydia’s murder.

So what led up to this tragedy? Lydia Jane Smith was born January 6, 1807, the fourth child of George Rudolphus Smith and his first wife Lydia “Jenney” Tait Smith. Lydia’s life began with tragedy as well—her mother died giving birth to her. George R Smith remarried three years later, and little Lydia soon had eight half siblings.

Lydia married Robert Patrick Calvert on May 3, 1827. They were both twenty years old. Robert had a farm in Posey County, Indiana where they lived. Their first child, Eudoxy, (also known as Emily) was born in 1829. Two little boys, Patrick and George, were born in 1830 and 1832. Daughter Elizabeth was born in 1835, and their final son, Jordan, was born in 1838.  

Lydia’s death was brutal. A descendant has posted the handwritten murder indictment the Posey County Grand Jury brought against Robert. The indictment stated that on August 10, 1840, Robert Calvert:

“with force and onus in and upon one Lydia Cavett wife of said Robert Cavett feloniously, willfully and with malice aforethought did make an assault and that said Robert Cavett then and there felonious, willfully and of his malice aforethought did strike, beat and kick the said Lydia Cavett with his hands and feet in an upon the belly, breast, sides and other parts of the body of the said Lydia Cavett and did then and therefore feloniously willfully and his malice aforethought cast and threw the said Lydia Cavett down with great force and violence…”

This attack caused “several mortal strokes wounds and bruises in and upon the belly, breast, sides and other parts of the body of her said Lydia Cavett to wit one mortal bruise and wound on the belly of her the said Lydia Cavett between the left nipple and navel…”

First page of Grand Jury Indictment

It took her a day to die of her injuries. I have to guess that at least some of Lydia’s children witnessed the assault, as the details about him kicking her and throwing her forcefully onto the ground sound like eye-witness testimony. Given the brutality, it is likely that this attack was but one of many she suffered over their thirteen years of marriage. Men generally don’t commit murder the first time they beat their wives. He seems to have been a violent person from childhood, as another descendant posted a story about young Robert attacking a child his father was caring for with an axe, cutting off the boy’s foot. I shudder to think of the horrors Lydia suffered over those long years, and the terror her children experienced.

Calvert was arrested in August of 1840 and was fortunate that his father, Patrick Calvert, chose to post the huge sum of $5000 bond to get him released.

Father Patrick Calvert puts up bond for son

Robert came to trial in March of 1841. Despite the Grand Jury report and the efforts of the prosecutor,

“twelve good and lawful men who being elected tried and sworn upon their oaths do say ‘We the Jury find the Defendant not guilty.”

Not guilty verdict document

Of course the jury was composed only of men, since women had no rights in the 1840s. Apparently those supposedly good and lawful men believed Robert Calvert was perfectly justified to beat his wife to death.

Luckily for Lydia’s five traumatized children, they were not sent to live with their father, the murderer. Instead, Robert’s father Patrick took them in and raised them. Robert seems to have disappeared from records following his acquittal. I believe he left Posey County and may have died in the 1850s, but I have no records to verify this.

Robert’s father Patrick died in 1861. Four of Lydia’s children—Eudoxy, Patrick, Elizabeth and Jordan survived at that time and were beneficiaries in Patrick’s will, each receiving $244.57. The remaining child, George, died at age 23 in 1855, and was buried near his grandfather Patrick on Patrick Calvert’s farm. I will write about George and Patrick’s graves in a future post.

Section of Patrick Calvert's will dealing with Lydia's surviving children

As for poor Lydia, she was laid to rest in the Smith Cemetery in Posey County where her parents and other relatives are buried. Sadly, the cemetery is on private property and is inaccessible. Her grave is unmarked.

Smith Cemetery in Posey County--courtesy of Findagrave

Lydia never received justice. Her killer, her own husband who had taken--and broken--vows to protect and honor her, went free despite strong evidence that he beat her to death. She deserves to have candles lit in her memory, and to have prayers offered up that she can somehow rest in peace.

 

Sources:

Posey County documents posted on Ancestry.com.

Learning About Marriage Bonds: 52 Ancestors 2023 “Education”

 

Something Old, Something New: The Use of Marriage Bonds in 1800s America

George Rudophus Smith: 1771-1840
Lydia “Jenny” Tait: 1770-1807

 

While researching Elias Guess Smith’s siblings, I ran across a new type of record I had never seen before: a “marriage bond”. The marriage bond index available on Ancestry provided only the names and dates of the people involved. No transcription was provided, or information on what the document meant. The 1800 North Carolina record involved Elias Smith’s brother, George Rudophus Smith, and the woman he married, Jenney Tait, and Jenney’s father Zacheus Tait. I knew who and when, but I needed to learn what the document was and why it was required.

Luckily I discovered that another family historian had posted a scan of the actual bond record on Ancestry. Rather than a standardized, printed form, the bond was a hand-written legal document dated December 20, 1800. The scan below shows the original.

Here is my transcription of the document:

“Know all men by these presents that we George Smith & Zacheus Tait are held afirmly bound to Benj. Williams reg. Governor,  the Just and full sum of five Hundred pounds to be paid to the Lord Benjamin Williams and his succession in office and assigns, to which payment is well and truly to be made we bind ourselves one hun. Each and admit Jointly adversely afirmly by these presents sealed with our seals and dated the 20^th day of Dec. 1800.

“The condition of the above obligation is such that whereas the above bondsman George Smith hath obtained a license to be joyned in Holy Matrimony, with Jenney Tait, if therefore there shall be no Lawful Impediment why the said George Smith & Jenney Tait should be joyned together then the above Obligation shall be void, otherwise to remain in full force & effect.”

The document was signed by both Zacheus Tait and George Smith, as well as the Governor’s representative.  

I was shocked by the huge amount of the bond requested—500 pounds in 1800 would be the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars in today’s money. I thought if people had to put up a bond of this amount today to get married, everyone would probably choose to live in sin!

I did some research on marriage bonds, to find out exactly what they were and why they were required. The Family Locket website (see 1 below) explained:

“In 1741, “An Act Concerning Marriages” was created in North Carolina by the General Assembly, in order to curtail unlawful marriages. This law required couples desiring to be married obtain a license or publish the banns in church for three Sundays. To obtain a license, the groom was required to post a bond of fifty pounds with the condition “that there is no lawful Cause to obstruct the Marriage for which the License shall be desired.”1 The penal sum on the bond was collected from the groom or bondsman if the marriage was found to be illegal. The bondsman was sometimes called a surety – he shared the groom’s obligation. This money was a protection for the future children of the marriage.2

Marriage bonds were used in North Carolina until 1868.3 For most of this time, they were the only record of marriages, until in 1851. A law that year required justices and ministers to return the licenses with certificates showing they had performed the marriage.4

Ancestry provides a shorter explanation: (see 2 below)

“When planning to marry, the prospective groom took out a bond from the clerk of the court in the county where the bride had her usual residence as surety that there was no legal obstacle to the proposed marriage.”

The bond essentially protected the woman in case the wedding failed to occur. The money could be used to support her, or to support any out-of-wedlock offspring that might result. Impediments that might lead to a broken marriage contract would include bigamy, if one of the parties was too young to be wed, or if one of the parties was some sort of criminal.

An article by Tamie Dehler published in an Indiana newspaper provided further information (see 3 below):

“Think of a marriage bond as an intention to marry – a reflection of an official “engagement.” A man who had proposed to a woman went to the courthouse with a bondsman (often the father or brother of the prospective bride), and posted a bond indicating his intention to marry the woman. The bond was an amount of money that the prospective groom would have to pay as a penalty if an impediment to the marriage was found. No money literally changed hands at the time of posting the bond. But if the groom was discovered, for instance, already to have a wife whom he had abandoned, the marriage could not go through and the man would have to pay.

George and Jenney had no impediments to their marriage, so George and his father-in-law Zacheus Tait never had to pay the 500 pounds. George and Jenney married and after several years in Caswell County, North Carolina, they eventually moved to Posey County Indiana. They had at least four children before Jenney’s death during childbirth in 1807.

Old map of Caswell County, NC

I am so glad I ran across this document, as it gave me an education in the use and purpose of marriage bonds. It is interesting that they were still charging the bond fees in British pounds as late as 1800, despite America’s independence decades earlier. I will have to further educate myself on when the dollar was adopted as American currency.

 

Sources:

1.      The Family Locket.com website: https://familylocket.com/back-to-the-basics-with-marriage-records-part-1-marriage-bonds/#:~:text=Marriage%20bonds%20were%20used%20in%20North%20Carolina%20until,practice%20of%20marriage%20bonds%20with%20them%20from%20England.

2.      https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4802/

3.      “Genealogy: Think of a marriage bond as an intention to marry”, By Tamie Dehler Aug 11, 2007. https://www.tribstar.com/news/lifestyles/genealogy-think-of-a-marriage-bond-as-an-intention-to-marry/article_0d4c0f38-f3a7-5e83-a556-e75bbaca2bd4.html