Indiana Wampler (1864 -1883), wife of George L. Knight

Indiana Wampler is listed, in her parent's household, Joseph Wampler and Cynthia Jane Smith, in the 1870 US Census and 1880 US Census in Monroe county, Indiana. On both census reports her age has her with an estimated birth year of 1864 and she is said to been born in Indiana, more than likely in Monroe county, Indiana.

Only other information I came across about her was a few family trees saying she married a George Knight. It seemed to come to a screeching halt after that. No children listed, no death information shared for her outside of maybe few online trees may share an occasional question mark (for the date) and "possibly in Monroe County" or more vague location of "Indiana".

[hm5-132]   Indiana, WAMPLER
b. 1864
m. George KNIGHT
l. [he1-3]Hans->[hm2-7]Christopher->[hm3-21]Adam->[hm4-51]Joseph=>
Source: Wampler/Wampfler Database

So, here is what I eventually found:

On 11 May 1883, Indiana Wampler married George L. Knight in Monroe county, Indiana. This marriage apparently happened on the weekend immediately right after she won her bastardy case against the very same George L. Knight. After the jury gave it's verdict in her favor, per the newspaper accounts, George seemed to have a change of heart and suggested, in the court house, that they marry that weekend.

"It took the jury about fifteen minutes to decide the Wampler Knight bastardy suit. After it was over, it is said that hte defendent shook hands with the mother and chucked the baby under the chin, thinking no doubt, that after all it is nice to be a pa."

"There was a large audience in court last Tuesday, the front seats were occupied largely by bald-heads. The attraction was the bastardy suit of Indiana Wampler against George Knight. The jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff. Mr. Knight and Miss Wampler havod[sic] agreed to "kiss and make up," and will be married Sunday."
Source: Bloomington Courier, 12 May 1883, Page 4

"... The following are the latest marriage licenses: ... Geo. Knight and India Wampler. ..."
Source: Bloomington Courier, 19 May 1883, Page 1

Per another article, from the Indianapolis News, it shared the information that after the May marriage, the couple went to live in Brown county, Indiana. The article is vague, but using the September publication date in with the paragraph sharing "some ten days ago", as some kind of time reference, this would have Indiana Wampler Knight passing in late August of 1883 in Brown county, Indiana. The article was about Indiana's friends found her sudden death suspicious and apparently went to court to have her body, buried in Monroe county, exhumed. No mention of which cemetery she was buried in nor have I located, at this time, a later shared determination of the exam/coroner's findings.

"Some ten days ago the wife of George Knight died suddenly and under circumstances which led her friends to suspect foul play. She was living in Brown county at the time of her death, but was buried in Monroe county. The body was exhumed and the stomach taken out for analysis. "
Source: The Indianapolis News, 3 Sep 1883, Page 3

Not much is known about the child, who was the reason for the bastardy suit being filed that lead to Indiana Wampler marrying the baby's father. The newspaper articles I found did not mention the child's gender or name. In snooping around Google search results, the closest I came is an record, within a pdf file of Monroe county births, sharing that an Anna Wampler gave birth to a child on 5 Jan 1883 and, in the father column, was "NA". However, the child is listed simply as Infant Wampler. I should share a notation, from my side, that that alone does not have it "definitive" that it was Indiana Wampler who gave birth to a child on 5 Jan 1883, just sharing what I felt was maybe a "possibility" I have found so far and could try to use that date/time frame thought in hopes of locating more information.

I turned to George L. Knight, in hopes that poking around on his side of the paper trail would help lead to the child's name. Again I was hit with a brick wall. He had a child out of wedlock, in 1878, with a Catherine Eldrick in Brown county, Indiana. Some sources say he married Catherine Eldrick, and other sources don't say that they married although the child, William, had the surname of Knight. If George and Catherine married in Brown county, Indiana after she was pregnant with William Knight, they had divorced by May 1883 in order for George Knight to marry Indiana Wampler in Monroe county, Indiana.

Another source, at Rootsweb, shared that George L. Knight had 8 children. They listed the one child he had with Catherine Eldrick, but had him and Indiana Wampler not having a child. George L, Knight married a 3rd time, to Sarah Margaret Chandler, in 1899 in Monroe county, Indiana. The couple is said to have 6 children. So this information takes me to having the names of 7 of children: besides William, he had James Andrew, Maud Ellen, Henry Lewis, Eliza May, Minnie Alice and Gilbert Marshall Knight. I have not come across George Knight's obit at this time to compare the listing of survivors to the list of the 7 children's names shared in that particular Rootsweb posting.

In 1889 there is a "notice" which ran in the Bloomington newspapers about land division amongst George Knight and his siblings. In those notices is also listed an Elizabeth Wampler. George's parents, James Hoagland Knight and Eliza E. Carter, do not appear (thus far in my poking around) to have had a daughter named Elizabeth and it seems that their son, George, is the only one from the family that married a Wampler. Could this Elizabeth Wampler be Indiana Wampler's child? Hard telling, as there isn't much to work with thus far with this mystery. Searching for an Elizabeth Wampler who was born in 1883 doesn't seem to help lead me anywhere. Due to the lacking of a 1890 US Census, no idea where Indiana Wampler Knight's child was living at - by 1900, a 17 year old child doesn't appear to be listed in George Knight's nor Joseph Wampler's households.

Per this posting, I have shared that I managed to come across a bit more information about Indiana Wampler's short life. That information is having me cross my fingers that it is hopefully helpful as I continue to try to find more information about her only known - but also 'unknown' - child, per her taking the father to court for bastardy and the newspaper accounts sharing that led to her marrying the father of the child that is not shared by many within their own research.

John Byars Wampler (1843-1885) and Minnie A. Buck's (1864-1896) Children

John Byars Wampler married Minnie A. Buck, daughter of Charles Marquis Buck and Hannah Wellborn, in a double wedding ceremony in August of 1881. (The other couple was W. Armitage and Maud Noyes. John was friends with the couple and also with Maud's brother, Alva(h) Noyes who would later marry Minnie Buck's sister, Hattie. Alva would later write a short book, "Story of Ajax", about his early adult years in Montana in which he would mention John and John's other brothers periodically within it.)

John B. Wampler died, in 1885, as a result of blood poisoning that came about due to infection in his leg. It is said that he was buried somewhere on his Montana homestead. Minnie remarried and died a few years later, in April of 1898, in California. (Her FindAGrave memorial page has Minnie's middle name being Belle, which I don't know where they got that from as in newspapers her middle initial was listed as A, not B.)

The brief 4 year marriage of John B. and Minnie A. (Buck) Wampler resulted in two children. A daughter named Lorene May Wampler, born in 1882, and a son named Walter F. Wampler, born in 1884. Reece Bowen Wampler, John Byars' brother who also lived in Montana at the time, applied and was approved to be guardian of the children.

Lorene May was born 19 Jun 1882, probably in Big Hole - where John B. Wampler had his homestead, but I have seen her birthplace listed as Butte, Silver Bow county, Montana online. She doesn't appear in an available census report with Reece B. Wampler. Sometime after her mother's passing, and before 1900, it appears that she went to Knox county, Indiana. She lived in that area for the rest of her life until her passing on 24 Apr 1976.

Lorene was married Charles D. Steffy, son of Joseph and Mary Purcell Steffy, on 28 Dec 1901 in Bruceville, Knox county, Indiana. This marriage resulted in three children together: Charles Curtis Steffy, who died around the age of 12, Walter E. Steffy, and a daughter, Nellie M. Steffy.

MARRIED.
Charles D. Steffy of Wheatland, and Miss Lovene[sic?] May Wampler of Fritchton, were married Wednesday by Rev. R. H. Hooke at the Upper Indiana parsonage.
Source: Western Sun - 20 December 1901 - Page 7

Walter F. Wampler was born 10 Dec 1884 - reportedly in Knox county, Indiana. I perused the Indiana birth index, on Ancestry, and cannot find a record for him there. Walter is listed in a 1900 US census report in Reece Bowen Wampler's household. On that census his birth information is listed as Dec 1884, which had him being 16 at the time. His obit also shared that he was born in Vincennes, Knox county, Indiana on 10 Dec 1884. (Some people are apparently attaching him to a 2 Mar 1883 birth where the mother's name is listed as Emma, but that date conflicts with the other information about him having a December birth date.)

Walter never married and he died 14 Nov 1905 in Nye county, Nevada, shortly before his 21st birthday, from pneumonia, and he is buried in Tonapah, Nye county, Nevada.

John Byars Wampler and his younger brother, Reece Bowen Wampler, both had sons they gave the first name of Walter to, per their own paper trails, but their sons were each born in different years. Reeece Bowen's son died in Chicago, Illinois in 1881 and was buried in Knox county, Indiana - his headstone has become worn down from weather and age, and apparently they referred to him by his middle name, Audley, versus as Walter.

Reece Bowen Wampler 1852-1931

Who's....Reese WAMPLER of Montana who married a JORDAN around 1880. (info from Rebecca Mock, sdmock@gte.net).
Source: Wampler/Wampfler Database - Who's This Wampler?

Answer: That would be Reese (or Reece) Bowen Wampler, son of David Guy Wampler and Jane Byars. He was born 21 Mar 1852 in Knox county, Indiana - probably in Palmyra Township, although I have seen him listed as to being born in Vincennes, which was not far from Palmyra Township. He is recorded in 1860 census taken 2 years before David Wampler passes away and also in Jane (Byars) Wampler's household for the 1870 US Census.

Reese Bowen Wampler and three of his of his brothers, John Byars, David Fleming and Thomas J. Wampler, went westward as adults. John Byars was the first of the four, he went to Big Hole area of Montana in 1865 time frame and appears he may been part of the Battle of Big Hole. David Fleming Wampler and his family followed around 7 to 8 years later and settled in Big Basin/Butte area of Montana. Reese B. and Thomas J. Wampler also went to Montana, but I haven't pegged down "when", but know Reece was there at least by 1872 time frame. There are references to all four brothers in early Montana newspapers, however Reece tends to feel like his name was mentioned more often.

Reese Wampler married Violet Josephine "Josie" Jordan, daughter of Harrison Jordan and Catherine Tuttle, 7 Dec 1873.

MARRIED. - At the residence of the bride's parents, Fish Creek, M. T., December 7, 1873, by the Rev. Hugh Duncan, Mr. Reese Wampler, of Butte City, and Miss Josephine Jordan.
Source: Bozeman Avant Courier ; 19 Dec 1873 ; Page 3

They had three children, two girls and a boy, but only their oldest daughter, Nina, lived to adulthood and married a Charles E. Morris, it doesn't appear that the couple had any children before Charles died.

The 1880 US Census, for the household, is the only report that lists all of Reece's children. Irma and Walter Audley "Kidd" Wampler are often listed in online trees as to passing away before 1901. The "before 1901" thought probably stems from an autobiographical sketch for Reece Bowen Wampler appeared in a book, published in 1901, about "Progressive Men of the State of Montana, Book 1". In that particular sketch, Reece shared that Irma and Walter were deceased, but he didn't share more exact information for when they passed away.

I haven't come across more information, outside of the census reports, for Irma. I did find more information about their son. Walter Audley Wampler was born 17 Nov 1879 in Montana, there is a birth announcement for a son being born to the family in a Montana newspaper. Walter Audley Wampler died 19 Jan 1881 in Chicago, Cook county, Illinois and was buried in Upper Indiana cemetery in Bruceville, Knox, Indiana. In the obit for the son, it is mentioned he was survived by two sisters - which would been Nina and Irma. Given that Reece stated two of children passed "before 1901":, and Walter Audley died in 1881, could this hint Irma may have died in the early months of 1900 since she is not listed in that particular census?

Died.
In Chicago, at the residence of K. K. Baldwin, on the morning of January 19, Walter Audley, only son of Reece B. and Josie Wampler, of Butte City, Montana Territory, aged 1 year, 2 months and 2 days.
Walter was born in Butte City, November 17th, 1879; and until some three months ago lived there, when his mother carried him to Chicago, where he sickened and died. Walter was a beautiful child, too fair a flower to beautify earth, and was transplanted in Glory. Oh the sudden transition from pangs of death to glory, when the Savior took him in his arms, for he said "Suffer little children to come unto me, and for bid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." On the day following his death his Aunt Bec brought his remains to his grandmother. His remains were interred, Saturday last, in the Upper Indiana grave-yard. This is the eighth grand-child - five of which are interred at Upper Indiana; four of that number were carried from their Grandmother Wampler's. Walter leaves his parents and two sisters to mourn for him; but his loss is their gain. ....
(The Butte Miner please copy)
Source: Weekly Western Sun - 4 Feb 1881 - Page 1

DIED.
... WAMPLER.- In Chicago, Illinois, January 19th, 1881, Walter Dudley, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Wampler, aged 1 year 2 months and 2 days. ...
Source: Helena Weekly Herald - 10 Feb 1881 - Page 7

Reece and Josephine lived in Montana for a good part of their marriage and also Nevada. A nephew named Walter, who was the son of John Byars Wampler, is listed in their household for the 1900 US Census and he appears to gone with them to Nevada where he later passes away. It is said that Reece and his wife originally moved to Portersville area, in Tulare County, California, due to Josephine's health. Josephine Jordan Wampler passed away in 2 Jan 1920 in California.

Reese Wampler is recorded alone in 1920 US census. After Josephine's passing, he remained in that area and his daughter, Nina, listed as widowed, is listed in his home for the 1930 US census.

Reece B. Wampler died 16 Jun 1931 by suicide. Newspaper report shares that he had expressed his concerns about his health and money thoughts, and even suicidal thoughts, to neighbors prior to June 16th.

OCTOGENARIAN DIES BY HIS OWN HAND
PORTERVILLE, June 17. - Ill health and financial worries are believed to have prompted suicide of R. B. Wampler, 80 years of age, who shot himself in the head with a shotgun at his home in his orange grove in the Worth district, east of here, last night. Wampler, who lived alone, had several times spoken of "ending his troubles," according to neighbors. John Uzzell, a neighbor, hearing the report of the gun, found the body and notified authorities. Time for the inquest has not been set. Wampler leaves a daughter, Mrs. Nina Martin of Glendale, who arrived here this afternoon.
Source: The Los Angeles Times ; 18 Jun 1931 ; Page 10

Reece's burial location is not known. His daughter, upon her death around 20 years later, was cremated so that opens the possibility she may have had her father cremated versus buried in Indiana, Montana or California cemetery.