1. | ![]() Notes: Margaret May Sears was born 23 May 1912 in Akron, Washington County, Colorado, to Nelson Evans Sears and Edna Maude Barnhouse. She was born in her parent's house on the east side of town as were her elder brother, Alva Raymond, in 1910, and her younger sister, Faye Eleanor, in 1914, all delivered by a Dr. Kaylor. That house on the northeast corner of the block at present 5th and Date had some interesting history. Margaret's maternal grandparents, Ira Morgan Barnhouse and Mary Francis Albin, had moved the entire house from the country (Woodrow) into the east side of Akron several years before and had lived there until Nelson and Maude moved-in in 1910 just before Alva's birth. Ira and Mary consequently moved to a newly-built house on the southeast corner of the block (at present 4th & Date). But there's more. Nelson and Maude also moved their entire country house in (also from the Woodrow area) and had joined it to the house left by Ira and Mary. Margaret describes their house on the northeast corner of the block: "There was a driveway leading into the yard from the north where a car (or maybe a wagon, earlier) could park right by the back door. Across the driveway, west of the house, was our windmill. That's where we got our water for everything. Mother used a galvanized tub and a wash basin to do the [clothes] washing. The tub was moved into the kitchen for our weekly baths [our kitchen] opened out onto the back room (we always called it the back room) where mother washed [dishes] and where some things were stored and where the cellar was." The cellar (probably a storm cellar used to escape the dust) was a place of dark mystery: "A lift-up door opened up to the cellar where mother kept the jars of food she canned in the fall. Other foods that had to be kept cool were stored there. A black and scary hole in the ground I thought it to be." A barn stood to the west of the house, across what would now be the alley of that block. That barn, in fact, still stands in 2007 as depicted in the picture above. Margaret describes the barn: "There was the big red barn west of the house the north part of the barn was a garage. In the south part [were] stalls and mangers with an aisle running between them. My father kept a sow (for our supply of milk, plus a few families we sold to) for several years and in the west stall a horse named Dick." While the cellar was a mysterious hole in the ground the barn was a cornucopia of childhood delights, especially for the two girls of the family: "When we children were small we had a swing in the aisle that ran between the east and west stalls. What fun it was to swing there. The hayloft entrance was at the north end of the aisle, a ladder leading straight up to the left. We used to play up in the loft, jumping around in the hay and having lots of fun." Ira Barnhouse had been in the Civil War, having participated in Sherman's March to the Sea, but returned in poor health with dysentery for the rest of his life. He died 4 Apr 1914 and is buried in Akron Cemetery. Margaret didn't remember her grandpa Ira but she had vague memories of her grandma Mary. When Margaret started school (kindergarten) in 1917 the old grade school building, built in the late 1890s, was undergoing remodeling and expansion so she attended classes in the old Akron School north of the Methodist Church and later in an upstairs room in the high school. Finally, in 1919 the project was completed and the new school was opened where she completed her elementary schooling graduating from 8th grade in 1925. She entered Washington County High School at Akron (just built in 1916) in late 1925 graduating in 1930 in the largest class in the history of the Washington County School System, 41 seniors. Commencement was held Friday, May 23, 1930. In high school she and her best friend, Helen McCabe, were known as the "Ukulele Girls" for their ukulele duo and flapper styles, the naughty rage of the 20s. She entered Colorado State Teachers College in Greeley, Colo. in the fall quarter of the 1931-1932 school term. With the school year beginning in the fall of 1933, Margaret began teaching in rural Washington County, Colorado at the South Buena Vista School, Dist. 58. In the fall of 1934 she began teaching at Pleasant Hill school, Dist. 42, "often called the Johnson school" at that time. It was located east of the Buttes, and the Harry Johnson home was just a half mile east of the schoolhouse. "There was an old pump organ in the school, and I really loved playing it," she said in her writeup "My Years of Teaching" for the Washington County History pub 1989. "We had singing every morning." She taught at this school for three years. She wrote of the dust bowl years: "It was in the latter part of 1934, and 1935 that the dust storms were the worst. The most terrible of these storms came one afternoon (I don't remember the date.) We could see a huge black cloud rolling in from the northwest. When it came roaring over us, the schoolroom became dark and the smell of dust was heavy in the air. The parents came and got their children. I took the McDonald girls to their home which was on my way to town. I could not see the road, and all the way to town I kept squarely in the middle between the fence posts, which I could just barely see on each side. I did make it into town all right, but will always remember this frightening experience." On 21 Jun 1936, Margaret and Clifford Coyne Cooley, son of Robert Berton Cooley and Carrie Louella Miller, were married at the Presbyterian manse in Akron by Reverend G. Grey Dashen. The newlyweds, accompanied by the groom's parents, left after the ceremony for a honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls. They returned 6 Jul 1936 to begin residence in the Rena Lewis Apartments at Main St. and 5th Ave in Akron. She began her third and final year in the Pleasant Hill, Dist. 42, in the fall of 1936. In her words, "As a contrast to the previous year, there were several heavy snow storms in the school year 1936-1937. Many times snow drifts blocked sections of the road, and I had to take to the fields and pastures, opening gates and, in one instance, taking down the fence, and then of course, stopping again to close gates and put the fence back up. It was a joy one day late in the winter of 1937 when I saw the first fleecy white clouds in the sky and knew that spring was on the way". For the 1937-1938 school year she transferred to Center School, Dist. 21, north of Platner. She taught there for just one term. In the 1938-1939 school term she taught at Pleasant, Dist. 15, south of Platner. After just one year Pleasant School, to May of 1939, she began a six-year hiatus from teaching due to the duties of motherhood and demands of World War II. Coyne and Margaret's first child, a son, Daniel Berton, was born 25 October 1939 in the Anderson home in west Akron at present 581 Fremont St. (refurbished and still standing in 2007). They were still residing in the Lewis Apartments when Daniel was born but shortly after his birth they acquired (with help from R.B. Cooley) the property known as Lot Three in Block Three of the First Addition of Akron, Colorado, from J. B. Fisher. They built a Cape Cod-style house on the lot costing them just $2000. Coyne and Margaret's second child, a daughter, Catherine Lou, was born 14 Nov 1943, also in the Anderson Home. With end of World War II she resumed teaching in September 1945 at Star School, Dist. 11, for the 1945-1946 school term. for the 1946-47 school she taught at Platner, Dist 16 (8 mi E of Akron). Her salary was $116.67 per month. The next year on Sept 1, 1947 Margaret renewed her Teacher's Contract with the Dist. 16 Board of Directors to teach for the period beginning 1 Sep 1947 and ending 180 days later. Her salary was $150 per month. The school term 1947-1948, still at Platner, would be final one in Margaret's teaching career. Coyne and Margaret's third child, a daughter, Jo Ellen, was born on 13 Nov 1953. Margaret was an accomplished musician (piano, ukuele, vocal). She was a "Ukuele Girl" in her younger years. After her years of teaching in rural schools, she gave piano lessons in the 50s through the 80s. She accompanied on the piano numerous students in their instrument solo endeavors (including her son, Danny, who played, among other pieces, "Willow Echoes", on the baritone horn). While not playing the piano in any scheduled manner, she was often called upon to play for funerals and other church functions. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church Choir, faithfully singing every Sunday morning. Margaret had a life-long enthusiasm for books and writing. She served as librarian at the Akron Public Library from 1970 until her death in 1987. She fervently believed that the community should become more involved with books and their local library so she wrote the weekly newspaper column "From Off the Shelves" for the local newspaper, The Akron News Reporter. In 1976 she applied for and received a grant from the State of Colorado to engage in a Bicentennial-Centennial Oral History Project. The project's goal was to preserve valuable history that would otherwise be lost to the next generation. Various Washington County residents were interviewed and the interviewees life, work, remembrances, anecdotes and personal feelings about his/her years lived especially in Washington County were recorded onto cassette tape. Margaret died Sunday, Jan. 18, 1987, at Washington County Hospital aged 74, and is interred at the Akron Cemetery Margaret married Clifford Coyne Cooley on 21 Jun 1936 in Akron, Washington Co, Colorado. Clifford (son of Robert Berton Cooley and Carrie Louella Miller) was born on 15 Jul 1912 in Otis, Washington Co, Colorado; died on 5 Dec 1979 in Akron, Washington Co, Colorado; was buried on 8 Dec 1979 in Akron Cemetery, Washington Co, Colorado. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart] Children:
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2. | ![]() Notes: Nelson Evans Sears was born in Plano, Kendall County, Illinois on 15 Aug 1876 "of English and Welsh parentage"* namely Charles Madison Sears and Katherine Evans. In 1880 he moved with his father Charles Madison and his second wife, Celia Chambers, to Scranton, Iowa living for two years on the old John Henning farm two miles from town. In 1882 he returned to his home state where he made his home with his grandparents, Archibald Sears and Rachel Maria Carver, in Sandwich, Illinois. In May of 1886, he traveled to Nebraska to live with his father on a farm near Aurora. Four years later, in 1890, he returned to Plano to attend school. In 1896 he returned to Aurora to work on his father's farm. In the winter of 1898-1899 he attended Business College in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1899 he began farming 80 acres of land in Nebraska which his grandmother had bought for him in 1897 for $2600. Nelson sold his Nebraska land early in 1901 for $7200 and traveled to Colorado in an emigrant car chartered by a David Titler arriving in Akron in March of that year. He worked in the harvest fields southwest of Akron for Ira M. Barnhouse. However, after a brief trip to California, he returned to his father's farm in Aurora, Nebraska in the fall of 1901. He returned to Colorado in 1903 where he resumed work with Ira M Barnhouse. In May of 1905 under the Homestead Act of 20 May 1862, Nelson E Sears obtained the South half of the SE quarter of Section 3, and the West half of the NE quarter of Section 10 both in Township 1S of Range 55W of the Sixth Principal Meridian, Washington County, Colorado containing 160 acres. On 20 Sep 1907 he was united in marriage to Ira Morgan Barnhouse's daughter, Edna Maude. Nelson proved up his homestead on 17 May 1909 and was issued Homestead Certificate No. 0585 of the Register of the Land Office at Sterling, Colorado. Later in 1909 Nelson and his wife Edna moved from their homestead into the town of Akron, Colorado where he purchased Lots 1, 2, & 3 facing Golden St. and Lots 10, 11, & 12 facing Gunnison St, Block 11, Original Town of Akron. On 22 Mar 1910 Nelson and Edna's first child, Alva Raymond Sears, was born in Akron. Their second, Margaret May Sears, was born 23 May 1912, and their third and last child, Faye Eleanor Sears, was born 8 Aug 1914. In 1916 Nelson began carrying mail on RFD (Rural Free Delivery) Route 1 out of the Akron Post Office. He carried mail for 25 years until 1941 at which time he retired from the Post Office and assumed the duties of Justice of the Peace for Washington County, Colorado, a position he retained until his death, 17 May 1948. Nelson married Edna Maude Barnhouse on 20 Sep 1907 in Akron, Washington Co, Colorado. Edna (daughter of Ira Morgan Barnhouse and Mary Francis Albin) was born on 24 Apr 1879 in South Bloomingville, Hocking Co, Ohio; was christened on 28 Aug 1881 in Nelsonville, Athens Co, Ohio; died on 24 Aug 1971 in Brush, Morgan Co, Colorado; was buried on 24 Aug 1971 in Akron Cemetery, Washington Co, Colorado. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart] |
3. | ![]() Notes: Edna Maude Barnhouse, eldest daughter of Ira Morgan and Mary Francis Albin Barnhouse was born in 24 Apr 1879 in Bloomingville, Ohio and died 24 Aug 1971 in Brush, Colorado at the age of 92 years and 4 months. When two years old, she moved with her parents to Shelby, Nebraska, where she lived for the next five years. In the spring of 1887 she moved with her parents to a homestead near Abbott, Washington County, Colorado, 35 miles southwest of Akron, Colo, where in that locality she grew to womanhood. On Sept. 20, 1907 she was united in marriage to Nelson E. Sears of Aurora, Neb. In the fall of 1909 they moved from their homestead into the town of Akron, Colo., where their three children were born: One son, Alva Raymond (in the Armed Forces in England during World War II), and two daughters, Margaret May and Faye Eleanor. During these years Edna was an active member of the Presbyterian church and of the Rebecca lodge which she joined 2 Oct 1915 and of which she was a member for 46 years. She was a willing participant in many civic activities of the town. After her husband, Nelson E. Sears, died in May, 1948, she maintained her own home in Akron for a number of years, later living with her daughter, Faye Johnston, in San Francisco, Calif. She eventually returned to Akron where she stayed with her daughter Margaret Cooley and family before entering Sunset Manor Nursing Home in Brush, Colo., in July, 1969. As long as her health permitted, she lived a vital and active life, loved music [Tex Ritter], and was always greatly interested in current events. - Obituary in the Akron News Reporter.
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4. | ![]() Notes: His name probably derived from his uncle Charles Madison Carver born in Hebron, Tolland Co, Connecticut on 28 Jun 1825. Charles married Catherine Evans on 2 Sep 1874 in W Nissouri Twp, East Middlesex, Ontario. Catherine (daughter of James Evans and Jane Kearn) was born on 24 May 1850 in Evelyn, West Nissouri Twp, Middlesex Co, Ontario; died on 16 Aug 1876 in Plano, Kendall Co, Illinois; was buried on 19 Aug 1876 in Plano Cemetery, Kendall Co, Illinois. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart] |
5. | Catherine Evans was born on 24 May 1850 in Evelyn, West Nissouri Twp, Middlesex Co, Ontario (daughter of James Evans and Jane Kearn); died on 16 Aug 1876 in Plano, Kendall Co, Illinois; was buried on 19 Aug 1876 in Plano Cemetery, Kendall Co, Illinois. Notes: On Catherine's gravestone her given name is "Katy". Notes: Married:
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6. | ![]() Notes: Ira Morgan Barnhouse was born 14 Aug 1848 at Sharon, Noble County, Ohio. His youth was spent on a farm at the place of his birth. He enlisted in Co. B, 66th Ohio Volunteer Infantry* when but 15 years of age and served in the Union Army under Gen. Sherman on his triumphal [and unnecessarily destructive] "March to the Sea" through Georgia from Atlanta to Savannah then north through the Carolinas to Washington DC. He was honorably discharged at Louisville Kentucky July 20, 1865. He taught school in Ohio and Missouri from 1867 to 1873. He was married 3 Aug 1875 to Mary Francis Albin at Laurelville, Hocking County, Ohio to which union three children were born: Perl Travisd, Edna Maude, and Rose Ann Elizabeth. He engaged in various mercantile and industrial pursuits removing to Missouri, Nebraska, and Colorado in turn. He homesteaded February 1887 near Abbott, Washington County, Colorado. He was a Mason, having taken the degrees in Caldwell, Missouri at the age of 21. He was a Presbyterian by faith, having united with that church in 1876. His love of home and family gave him zeal and persistence in the field of human endeavor in their behalf. His wonderful energy but slight physical strength culminated in his enforced retirement from the more arduous labor of farm life in 1904 at which time he came to Akron, Colo. His confidence in its future was manifested in his real estate promotions at a time when many faltered. A nearly fatal accident** on 7 Nov 1907 from which he recovered through his power of will alone, left an imperfect cicatrice*** on his cheek. He was elected County Judge and began service in 1908. The facial problem he received in his accident, however, began to trouble him in 1911. It developed into cancer a year later and he was forced to resign his judgeship in 1912. The unequal struggle ended in his death at the Hahnemann Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., at four o'clock on the fourth day of April, 1914. Ira married Mary Francis Albin on 4 Aug 1875 in Laurelville, Hocking Co, Ohio. Mary (daughter of William Slater Albin and Elizabeth Ann Tribby) was born on 20 Oct 1854 in Laurelville, Hocking Co, Ohio; died on 8 Jan 1924 in Akron, Washington Co, Colorado; was buried on 10 Jan 1924 in Akron Cemetery, Washington Co, Colorado. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart] |
7. | ![]() Notes: Mary Frances Albin Barnhouse was born 20 Oct 1854 at Laurelville, Hocking County,Ohio [to William Slater Albin (1823-1902 and Elizabeth Ann Tribby (1828-1914)] She departed this life 8 Jan 1924 at the age of 69 years, 2 months and 18 days. She was united in marriage to Ira Morgan Barnhouse on 4 Aug 1875 in Laurelville. To this union three children were born: Perl Travis, 31 May 1877, Edna Maude, 24 Apr 1879 (Mrs. Nelson Sears), and Rose Ann Elizabeth, 2 Aug 1895 (Mrs. Alva Wright) all residents of Washington County, who were at the bedside of their mother when the final call was answered that called her to a heavenly home where there is no sorrow or evil but peace and joy. Mr. and Mrs. Barnhouse moved to Nebraska in 1887, then later, in 1887, moved to a homestead in Colorado. In 1904 they moved to Akron, Washington County, Colorado where they made their home. Mrs. Barnhouse was a faithful member of the Presbyterian church and a very active worker up until a few years ago when she was not able to attend church but always had prayer meetings and song services at her home, always living a Christian life, and was always bright and cheerful, with all her severe illnesses.
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8. | ![]() Notes: Archibald Sears, noted in the pioneer days of Kendall county, was born February 23, 1802 in Putnam County [then Dutchess County], N.Y., and for his time possessed an exceptional education as he was a successful teacher and a competent surveyor. For a period he was engaged in merchandising and in 1836 started for the West, going by way of the Canal and Great Lakes. After prospecting throughout this region he concluded that he could not find better land for farming purposes than in Kendall County. He settled on section 13 and there built a log house. He located one section of land situated on the banks of the Little Rock Creek and in 1842, when there was a land sale, he bought the six hundred and forty acres. He made a specialty of raising wheat and swine, as better prices were realized on these products than on any other farm produce at that early day and it was necessary to haul things to Chicago as the railroad was not constructed until long afterwards. There being great demand for surveyors, Mr. Sears found plenty of employment as such, and laid out farms and roads and did general government surveying throughout this portion of the state. In this way he was enabled to pay for his large landed estates and to make necessary improvements. He was the first supervisor of this township after its organization and continued to fill that office for several years. He also served as a justice of the peace and county surveyor. In 1866 he retired from active life and for twenty years dwelt in the town of Sandwich. His last years were spent in Plano where his death occurred in November, 1893 [28 Oct 1893]. The first marriage of Archibald Sears took place in the Empire state in June, 1833, his choice being Miss Susan Hadden. She was a native of the same county as her husband, a daughter of Morris and Sarah (Nelson) Hadden, both natives of New York. Susan Hadden died June 10, 1845 in Plano. On the 23d of August 1850, Archibald married Mrs. Rachel Smith, daughter of David T. and Charlotte (Tarbox) Carver. Six children were born to his union, namely, Charles M, Albert H, Sherman S, Mary E Henning, Alice M Mather and Ada A Miller. - Genealogical and Biographical Record of Kendall and Will Counties, Illinois Archibald married Rachel Maria Carver on 23 Aug 1850 in Plano, Kendall Co, Illinois. Rachel (daughter of David Taylor Carver and Sharley Tarbox) was born on 26 Oct 1818 in Hebron, Tolland Co, Connecticut; died on 10 Mar 1905 in Aurora, Hamilton Co, Nebraska; was buried on 12 Mar 1905 in Plano, Kendall Co, Illinois. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart] |
9. | ![]() Notes: Another Pioneer Gone; Mrs. Rachel M. Sears died Friday, March 11, at Aurora, Neb. Notes: Married:
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Notes: From Ancestry U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, James Evans aged 50 arrived in Ontario in 1871 (Source publication code 1823.21). James married Jane Kearn about 1845 in Probably Ontario, Canada. Jane (daughter of Edward Killion Kearn and Elizabeth Philpot) was born on 8 Apr 1828 in New York; died on 5 Mar 1909 in Thorndale, West Nissouri Twp, Middlesex Co, Ontario; was buried on 8 Mar 1909 in Clipperton Cemetery, W Nissouri Twp, Middlesex, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart] |
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Notes: Jane Kearn death certificate 019069 found in the Ontario Death Register.
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12. | Notes: Obituary, Unionville (Missouri) Republican 3 Dec 1890 Died, of paralysis, Nov. 21, 1890, George Barnhouse. He was born Sept. 6, 1813 in Jefferson Co. Ohio. At the age of 27 he moved to Noble county, where he married Rosanna McCune. There were born to them ten children, eight of whom are still living. Seven were at his funeral.* He has been a Christian thirty-five years and a member of the M.E. church. He was confined to his bed for over two years and bore his affliction Christian-like. His companion [Rose Ann McCune] died Feb. 16, 1889 and [he] often asked where mother was. The remains were laid to rest beside her in the McCune grave yard, three miles east of Hartford. **I have only nine children; Michael died in 1851 ae 5 so he would be the one child not living in 1890. Therefore I have 9 children, 8 living in 1890. George married Rose Ann McCune on 29 Jun 1842 in Morgan County, Ohio. Rose (daughter of Charles Tarrance McCune and Sabria (wife of Charles Tarrance McCune) [?]) was born on 23 Apr 1822 in New Jersey; died on 16 Feb 1889 in Putnam County, Missouri; was buried about Feb 1889 in McCune Cemetery, Putnam Co, Missouri. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart] |
13. | Rose Ann McCune was born on 23 Apr 1822 in New Jersey (daughter of Charles Tarrance McCune and Sabria (wife of Charles Tarrance McCune) [?]); died on 16 Feb 1889 in Putnam County, Missouri; was buried about Feb 1889 in McCune Cemetery, Putnam Co, Missouri. Notes: I have encountered several spellings of her given name: Rose Ann [most probable], Rosanna, Rosana, Roseann, and even Rosannah
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Notes: _TODO: William married Elizabeth Ann Tribby on 14 Oct 1847 in Guernsey County, Ohio. Elizabeth (daughter of Samuel Tribby and Frances "Fanny" Yost) was born on 16 Jun 1828 in Senecaville, Guernsey Co, Ohio; died on 19 Sep 1914 in Warrensburg, Johnson Co, Missouri; was buried about Sep 1914 in Sutton Cemetery, Johnson County, Missouri. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart] |
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Notes: (Medical):General debility is a state of general weakness or feebleness that may be a result or an outcome of one or more medical conditions that produce symptoms such as pain, fatigue, cachexia and physical disability, or deficits in attention, concentration, memory, development and/or learning.
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