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Lodowick W. Disbrow |
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Sarah Jane Whitcomb |
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Lodowick W. Disbrow (Daniel, Jane) was born on June 11, 1828
in New York, according to his obituary DI2,
and he may have also been known as “Ludwig”. The death record for “Lodawick” W.
Disbrow indicated that he was born in 1828 in New York MI4, and the 1900 census recorded that he was
born in June 1828 in New York. Lodowick’s
first wife was Arvilla H. Sebring, whom he married circa 1849 but then divorced
on May 26, 1860 FE1, DI2. The census
record for 1850 appeared to show the name “Amelia”, rather than Arvilla. She
was only fifteen in 1850, and he was twenty-one. At the time of the 1860
census, Arvilla Seabring lived with relatives who were probably her parents, in
Cambria Township, Hillsdale County, Michigan, and she stated that she was a
widow.
A
land patent dated June 2, 1856 recorded that Lodovick Disbrow purchased land in
South Haven Township, later Bangor Township, Van Buren County, Michigan CO39, which was perhaps a reference to the General Land Office
record which stated that “Lodovick W. Disbrow” purchased 90.84
acres on October 30, 1857, which was the
west half of the northwest quarter and the southeast quarter of the northwest
quarter in Section 19, Township 2 South, which
is Bangor Township, Van Buren County, Michigan GE4. These two parcels of land
were adjacent to each other, not far from his brother’s land (Lavoysier
Disbrow, in Section 29) and his father’s land in Sections 21 and 28 BO36.
The census enumerator recorded that he and Alveretta,
who may have been his seven-year-old daughter, were living with Daniel and Jane
Disbrow’s family in Michigan at the time of the 1860 census UN11, and in 1870, sixteen-year-old
Alviretta was enumerated with “Ludwig” and Sarah Disbrow UN12. Avaretta
Disbrow and William A. Waterman were married on January 1, 1871 in Bangor, Van
Buren County, Michigan by William F. Trafford, Justice of the Peace MI23. Another marriage record stated that Alferetta Disbrow married
John L. Hines on August 14, 1875 in Marshall County, Iowa IO7. Alfaretta Hines, age twenty-six, died in February 1880 in
Bangor, Van Buren County, Michigan of what appeared to read “Dropsy and Cancer
in Sto…”, which first presented in Iowa in 1878 US7. A gravestone in Van Auken Cemetery in Van Buren County,
Michigan states “Alfaretta E Wife of ?? Hines
Born May 14, 1856 Died Feb. 14, 188?” (a photo can be viewed on the Find a Grave website). A notice
in the Hartford Day Spring on February 21, 1880 stated LO6:
Mrs.
Hines, of this village, a woman about thirty years old, died last Saturday
night. She was a daughter of L W. Disbrow, of Bangor. The funeral services were
held at the brick school house, in the Van Auken
neighborhood, on Monday. Her death leaves Mr. Hines in a sad situation – two
small children and but one hand to work with, having lost one n a threshing
machine some years ago.
The 1900 census stated that Lodowick and Sarah had
been married for thirty-nine years, which indicates that they married about the year 1861;
their marriage occurred on September 15, 1861 in
Hartford, Van Buren County, Michigan MI2,
DI2, FE1. The record of their marriage stated MI2, VA11:
This
is to Certify that Lodwick Disbrow of the Town of Bangor County of Van Buren State of Michigan aged thirty three years and
Sarah J Whitcomb of the Town of Deerfield County of Van Buren State of Michigan
aged Twenty three years were joined together in Holy matrimony by me at
Hartford this 15th day of September 1861
–
Eri Beebe
Justice of the Peace
In
presence of Lydia Youngs Mary E. Traver
The 1890 Veteran’s Schedule record showed that he
served three months in the Civil War as a private in Company G of Michigan’s 15th Infantry Regiment 18V. Lodowick W. Disbrow, a farmer who was born in New
York but resided in Bangor, Van Buren County, Michigan and was thirty-five as
of July 1, 1863, was recorded in June 1863 on the draft of men who were
“subject to do military duty in the Second Congressional District”, which
included the counties of Allegan, Branch, Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph,
and Van Buren in Michigan US3. Directly below this record was a name which
stated “Disbrow Lewellyoth H”, who was thirty-seven, and also
from New York US3. He enlisted 18V or was drafted FE1 on
March 21, 1865 18V, FE1 at
Livingston for the term of one year FE1, and he joined his regiment in Alexandria, Virginia on May 21,
1865 with his younger brother, “Lavisier” BR13. His
pension record indicated that he was on roll on June 30, 1865, but was sent to
the General Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky on June 17, 1865 FE1. He was discharged on July 3, 1865 18V, FE1, and
the disability he incurred was lungs that were “badly affected” 18V.
On
May 4, 1880, Lodowick Disbrow, then a fifty-one-year-old farmer, was described
as five feet, three and one quarter inches tall, with a light complexion, light
hair, and blue eyes FE1. On that date, as a resident of Bangor
Township, Van Buren County, Michigan, he appeared before a clerk of the Circuit
Court of Van Buren County for his Declaration for Original Invalid Pension, and swore that on March
21, 1865, he enlisted as a private in Company G of Michigan’s 15th Infantry Volunteer Regiment, which was
commanded by Captain James C. Roberts FE1.
He was discharged on July 3, 1865 in Louisville, Kentucky, by reason of General
Order Number 27 FE1. Lodowick stated that while he was in service
in Washington, D.C. on or about May 15, 1865, he suffered FE1:
from exposure to malarial influences he contracted chills and fever, and at the same
time and place he contracted chronic diarrhoea caused by improper diet and
exposure. At Louisville, Kentucky, June 1865 from exposure he contracted
pneumonia which resulted in lung disease… he was treated… At Browne Hospital at
Louisville Kentucky in June 1865 up to date of discharge
A pension record
dated May 15, 1882 stated “Cause for which sent to hospital not stated. No
evidence of alleged disabilities. Regimental hospital records are not on file”,
but a Declaration for Original Pension of
a Widow-Child or Children under Sixteen years of age Surviving dated
December 31, 1902 stated that Lodowick had been drawing a pension of $24 each
month for “chronic diarrhoea & resulting piles, intermittent fever,
pneumonia & resulting disease of lungs & heart & who died on the 4th day of Oct., A.D. 1902” FE1.
The 1870 non-population agricultural census reported that he owned twenty improved
acres, thirty-five woodland acres, and five “other” acres. He had two horses,
two milk cows, one “other” cattle, and three pigs. He and his family lived two
miles west of Deerfield Station in September 1878 TH2, and in September 1882, The Hartford Day Spring seemed to be
impressed with the size of Bartlett pears grown by L.W. Disbrow TH9.
According to his
death certificate, he died at 11:00am on October 4, 1902 in Bangor, Michigan,
and was buried two days later at Thomas Cemetery, Bangor Township, Van Buren
County, Michigan. The cause of his death was “Mitral Valvular Disease of Heart”, and the contributory complication which caused his
death was a cirrhotic condition of his right lung. His death certificate stated
that he had six children,
but two were still alive at that time. Michael Disbrow reprinted Dennis Disbrow’s copy of Lodowick’s
obituary from an unknown newspaper DI2:
LODOWICK W. DISBROW was
born in NY June 11, 1828 and came to MI with his father who located at their
present homestead in 1856 which the family now hold possession of, the deed for same being signed by Franklin Pierce, President
of the United States. Their family consisted of 6 brothers and 3 sisters, four
of whom survive him. The history of the deceased would be a history of Van
Buren Co. He like many another young man of those times, being of an ambitious
nature and not endowed with this worlds goods only
with a rugged constitution and willing hands it was only natural that the
forest should be the first to engage his attention. He became familiar with the
lumber interest in its various phases and the Paw Paw River was not a stranger
to him, from the old Niles Mill to St. Joseph, making the trip many times either on a log raft of lumber or poling the old
river boat. About 1857 he received a piece of land on section 19 in Bangor
Township, paying 25 cents per acre for same. Upon which he established a home
and with Indians for neighbors undertook the white man’s
task of developing the country by opening roads, making corduroy cross ways
through the swamps and otherwise making it possible for civilization to come in
and take the benefits of the work of those early pioneers. In the year 1861 he
was married to Miss Sarah Jane Whitcome and with her
to this hamlet they retired to take up life’s struggles in earnest. At the
opening of the Civil War his patriotism called him to the service of his
country. He was rejected at two different times but at
the call of 1865 he offered his services and was accepted in the 15th Michigan
Inf., Co. G, where he was in continuous marching orders until mustered out at
Louisville, KY, July 3, 1865 and returned to his home in feeble health. In the
year 1872 a change in circumstances made it necessary for them to remove to his
father’s home [and] care for his aged parents in their declining years, which
service they faithfully performed. Mr. and Mrs. Disbrow were the parents of two sons who survive him
and a daughter who died in 1890. By their industry and economy
they succeeded in acquiring a valuable property. The deceased was at the time
of death 74 yrs., 3 mos., 25 days old. The funeral was conducted from their
home in south west Bangor Monday Oct. 6, 1902. The
remains being laid to rest in the Thomas cemetery.
The obituary located in
the Hartford Day Spring newspaper on October 8, 1902
was much more succinct HA19:
Lodawick
Disbrow, who resided five miles northwest of Hartford, died at 11 o’clock last
Saturday of paralysis, at the age of 74 years. The funeral was held on Monday
and interment took place in the Van Auken cemetery. Deceased was a veteran of
the civil war and a pensioner.
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1850 US
Census: lived in Ogden, Lenawee County, Michigan.
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1860 US
Census: lived in Bangor Township, Van Buren County, Michigan.
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1870 US
Census: lived in the Town of Bangor, Van Buren County, Michigan.
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1880 US Census: lived in Bangor Township, Van Buren County,
Michigan.
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1900 US
Census: lived in Bangor Township, Van Buren County, Michigan.
Sarah Jane Whitcomb (Albert, Lucy) was born on November 25, 1839 in Michigan to Albert and Lucy
(Bishop) Whitcomb, according to her death certificate, or perhaps on November
27, 1839 WH5. The death record of her son, Lavoysier,
stated that Sarah Jane was born in Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan MI4, which is quite near Le Roy (Leroy
Township), where her father was enumerated in 1840. Lodowick stated that her
full name was Sarah Jane Disbrow, née
Whitcomb FE1.
The 1860 census
indicated that there were two twenty-one-year-old school
teachers named Sarah Whitcomb who were born in Michigan and who lived in
LaPorte County, Indiana, but perhaps a more likely scenario was that this Sarah
moved to a different house. Census enumerators were supposed to ask each individual (or a representative for each family in a
household) to recall where that person resided on the official census date,
which was June 1, 1860, and to state what that person’s age was on that date.
If the enumerator failed to explain that the data collected was meant to refer
to June 1, 1860, then the subject might report current information. This
generally would be of little consequence, as the chance of an individual moving
or marrying between the official enumeration date of June 1 and that person’s
actual enumeration date, which may have been up to two months after June 1, was
fairly slim. More common errors would have involved
the locations of itinerate workers, or the ages of those whose birthdate fell
in June or July, or the event of an infant’s birth in those same months. On
June 5, 1860, J.G. Sleight recorded that a twenty-one-year-old woman named Sarah
J. Whitcomb, who was born in Michigan and was a schoolteacher, lived in
Michigan City, LaPorte County with Rhoda A. Dibble, who was her sister. That same
man, J.G. Sleight, documented on July 20, 1860 that Sarah Whitcomb, whose
description, profession, and origin was identical to the Sarah J. Whitcomb of
Michigan City, resided in Coolspring Township, LaPorte County. Perhaps there
were two different teachers from Michigan whose ages and names were identical,
but because Coolspring Township is immediately south of Michigan City, Sarah
may have relocated sometime in June or July.
While Sarah’s
obituary confirmed that she was a teacher, it also stated that she married in
1855. This marriage year is fallacious, because in 1860, Lodowick and his
daughter from his first marriage were living with his parents, and in 1900,
they had been married for thirty-nine years, according to census records.
According to the 1870, 1880, and 1900 census records, Sarah was the mother of
three children, Viola L., Lavoisier Watson, and Alberto Amos Disbrow.
Viola
“Desbrow” and Nathan “Desbrow”, both of Bangor, were married by Daniel W. Sias,
Justice of the Peace, on November 5, 1884 in Bangor, Van Buren County, Michigan
MI23. Viola stated that her birthplace was
Bangor MI23. Viola Disbrow and her unnamed infant
daughter died in the process of childbirth on January 2, 1890 in Bangor, Van
Buren County, Michigan MI21.
The death record stated that Viola was the twenty-six-year-old daughter of L.W.
and Sarah Disbrow, and while her husband’s name was not documented, the father
of her child was Nathaniel Disbrow MI21. Her gravestone, located at Thomas Cemetery in Bangor, Van
Buren County, Michigan, stated that she was the wife of Nathaniel H. Disbrow,
and was born on July 26, 1863, and died on January 12, 1890 (the photo of the
gravestone can be found on the Find a
Grave website). Her husband was probably Nathaniel Horace Disbrow, who was
born to Lewis H. Disbrow and Emma Randolph in February 1859 in Branch County,
Michigan and died on June 5, 1946 MI21.
Lavoisier Watson
Disbrow was born on October
13, 1865 FE1,
RO27 or October 13,
1866 MI4, LA18 in Bangor Township, Van Buren County,
Michigan RO27,
MI4. Alberto Amos Disbrow was born in Bangor, Van Buren County, Michigan
on July 29, 1876 AA1, US14. “Alberts A. Disbrow”, the son of L.W. Disbrow
and Sarah Whitcomb, and Jennode Graves, both of Bangor, were married by L.J.
Branch on November 27, 1901 in Bangor, Van Buren County, Michigan MI23. On his draft
registration card for World War I, dated September 12, 1918, he stated that his
wife’s name was Jennie Disbrow US14. Alberto died on November 8, 1951 in
South Haven, Van Buren County, Michigan AA1. In a pension record dated October 10, 1897, Lodowick stated that
two of his children were alive, Lovoysier W. Disbrow, who was born on October
13, 1865, and Alberto A. Disbrow, born on July 29, 1876 FE1.
Sarah may have
suffered from pneumonia in December 1901; the newspaper brief
simply reported “Mrs. L.W. Disbrow, northwest of town, is ill with pneumonia” HA17. Her Application
for Accrued Pension dated December 31, 1902 stated that she was the lawful
widow of Lodowick Disbrow, who died on October 4, 1902, and he last received a
payment from the pension office on September 4, 1902 FE1. She appointed Orley M. Vaughan of Covert
as her attorney to process the claim on Lodowick’s pension FE1. In 1910, she was a widow who lived with
her son’s family, Alberto Disbrow and his wife, Jennie. According to a document
in Lodowick’s pension record, Sarah received her final pension disbursement of $12
on June 4, 1914 and died on July 16, 1914 FE1.
Her Van Buren County, Michigan death certificate, which included the names of her parents,
Albert Whitcomb and Lucy Bishop, indicated that she
died at age seventy-four years, seven months, and twenty-two days at 2:00am on July 17, 1914 in Bangor,
Michigan from aortic valvular disease. Her obituary in The Hartford Day
Spring stated MR8:
Sarah J. Whitcomb, one of the oldest
pioneers of this section of the county, died at her home in southwest Bangor
Thursday night, July 16, 1914, at the age of 74 years, 7 months
and 20 days. Sarah J. Whitcomb was born of parents who were from the state of
Vermont. They came to Michigan and settled at Battle Creek, at which place she
was born November 27, 1839. In 1850 she removed with her parents to Barry county where they lived for some time. She and a
brother, C. B. Whitcomb, first came to Van Buren county
in 1854 to visit a sister, Mrs. John A. Hunt, at the farm near Toquin where Mr.
Hunt still resides. She taught the first school in the Hawley district, and
about that time met L. W. Disbrow whom she married on September 15, 1855. They took up their home on the farm owned at that time by Mr.
Disbrow, but now known as the Chas. Radtke farm. After a few
years they moved to the farm of his father and mother to care for them in their
declining years, and at which place they lived the remainder of their lives. To
this union three children were born, Lucy Viola, who died in 1890, Lavoysier W.
and Alberto A., who still survive her. In 1902 death claimed the husband and
father and the mother lived on the old place with the youngest son, Alberto,
until her death. She had been confined to her bed for five weeks and suffered
patiently until the end. Funeral services for her were attended Sunday
afternoon at the home, conducted by Rev. F. L. Niles. Burial took place at the
Thomas cemetery.
Her death
certificate indicated that she was buried at Thomas Cemetery on July 29, 1914
in Bangor Township, Van Buren County, Michigan. Her gravestone was inscribed
with a birthdate of November 27, 1838 and a death date of July 16, 1914.
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1850 US
Census: lived in Emmett, Calhoun County, Michigan.
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1860 US
Census: lived in LaPorte County, Indiana.
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1870 US
Census: lived in Bangor, Van Buren County, Michigan.
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1880 US Census: lived in Bangor Township, Van Buren County,
Michigan.
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1900 US
Census: lived in Bangor Township, Van Buren County, Michigan.
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1910 US
Census: lived in Bangor Township, Van Buren County, Michigan.
Lodowick’s signature appeared twice in his pension record. The signature above was dated May 4, 1880, and the signature below was dated October 10, 1897 FE1. Sarah’s signature was written on her Application for Accrued Pension, dated December 31, 1902 FE1.
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Lodowick Disbrow’s gravestone, photographed by Ruth Reynolds and reprinted with her permission, is located in Thomas Cemetery.
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Sarah Jane Disbrow’s gravestone, photographed by Ruth Reynolds and reprinted with her permission, is located in Thomas Cemetery.
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