Reverend Boyd Ward Fielder 1855-1895

Currently working on one of Evalina Sanders Wampler and John Randolph Fielder's sons, Boyd Ward Fielder.

I have Boyd Ward Fielder listed with being born 4 March 1855 in Grayson county, Virginia. He became a Methodist minister before, or around, 1879 time frame as he is mentioned to have attended a Holston conference held in Abingdon, Virginia in that year and a sketch (essay) of his is shared, in 1913 within Volume 4 of Holston Methodism. for the years 1844 to 1870, about another attendee's speaking style.

Boyd Ward Fielder married Frances Elizabeth Davis on 15 October 1884 in Wythe county, Virginia. Frances Elizabeth, who went by her middle name, was born 20 January 1866 in Virginia to William J. Davis and Sarah A. Jackson.

Boyd most often appears by his initials, so B. W. Fielder. His wife went by Elizabeth Davis Fielder and she appears to have written at least two newspaper articles during their marriage. This becomes relevant later on with Elizabeth.

B. W. Fielder and his wife had at least 4 children attributed to them. Anna Saunders Fielder, born 1891 in Atchison county, Kansas, Helen Ward Fielder, born 1893 in Missouri, and I have seen a son listed with them on family trees - William Fielder - with a vague note that he died young (but no mention of year or location for his birth or death), and a child said to been stillborn (again, no mention of year or location for this child).

Rev. B. W. Fielder died from paralysis, or a stroke, which occurred almost a week earlier, on 22 September 1896 in Moberly, Randolph county, Missouri. He was buried in Saint Jude Cemetery at Monroe City, Monroe county, Missouri.

Stricken with Paralysis.

Rev. B. W. Fielder, a Methodist minister well and favorably known in this city, now of Moberly, was stricken with paralysis last Sunday morning while on his knees in prayer in his pulpit. His condition is regarded as critical.
Marion County Herald - 17 Sep 1896 - Page 7

Rev. B. W. Fielder, pastor of the Methodist Church, South, at Moberly, was engaged in his first service at that place last Sunday, and while at prayer was stricken with paralysis. He was conveyed to his home and last reports say he in a precarious condition.
Shelbina Democrat - 23 Sep 1896 - Page 1

Rev. B. W. Fielder died of paralysis in Moberly Tuesday morning. Rev. Fielder was an educated gentleman and consecrated preacher, whose death will be a great loss to the Methodist church. His remains were interred in Monroe City.
The Macon Republican - 25 Sep 1896 - Page 3

His widow, Elizabeth Davis Fielder, remarried at least three times. Her marriages took her from Missouri to Illinois and eventually to Texas. She married a W. D. Waller in September of 1899 in Missouri. She is listed as being a widow when she married Charles J. Montouck in 1903, also in Missouri. He was employed in the insurance industry when they married and in 1906 he was assigned to northeastern Illinois. It appears that she and Charles Montouck divorced, possibly in Illinois, as in 1908 she married an Elbert C. Hendrix, employed as an inspector for the US Immigration Department, in Texas and it is stated, about a week after they married, that he was being transferred to El Paso area and she was going to Illinois to 'attend to business' before joining him in El Paso.

A SURPRISE TO MANY.

W. D. Waller a leading businessman of Hannibal and Mrs. Fielder formerly of this city were united in the holy bonds of matrimony in St. Louis, Thursday 21st.
Monroe City Democrat - 28 Sep 1899 - Page 4

Married In St. Louis.

Mr. Charles Monckton and Mrs. Elizabeth Fielder Waller were quietly married in St. Louis last Saturday afternoon. The wedding was quite a surprise to the friends of both parties. Mrs. Waller left Louisiana Saturday morning telling her friends that she was going to St. Louis on business. Saturday evening she wired some friends in Louisiana that she was married. Both formerly resided in Hannibal and both are well and favorably known here. Mr. Monckton is engaged in the insurance business and was recently promoted to state manager of his company. The bride was the widow of the late E. D. Waller and is a lady of rare literary attainments. - Hannibal Journal.
Monroe City Democrat - 2 Apr 1903 - Page 1

MARRIED AT HIDALGO.
Popular Immigration Agent and a Lady Magazine Writer.

The marriage of E. C. Hendrix, the popular immigration inspector of Hidalgo, and Mrs Elizabeth Monckton, of Aurora, Ill., the well known magazine writer, took place at Hidalgo Friday, Jan. 31. The bride has returned north to attend to some business matters, but will rejoin Mr. Hendrix shortly.

The many friends of Mr. Hendrix are congratulating him, upon his good fortune, and wish him and his talented bride a life of happiness and prosperity.
The Brownsville Herald - 5 Feb 1908 - Page 4

Her marriage to E. C. Hendrix appears to being her last marriage. Elizabeth C. Hendrix is listed in the 1910 US census being widowed in El Paso, Texas and her occupation being editor of a newspaper. In 1940 census she is listed, as Elizabeth C. Hendrix, living with her daughter Helen's family in California. She doesn't appear to have any children with her other husbands.

Elizabeth established herself as a writer, and besides at least two novels/books (one as early as 1906/1907 and it appears she was still married to Charles J. Montouck at the time of the publication), she also wrote a variety of articles, or stories, for newspapers and magazines. She is also credited as a writer in 1917 for the movie "Polly Put The Kettle On". She wrote under several names - Elizabeth Davis Fielder, Elizabeth Fielder Waller, Elizabeth C. Montouck, Mrs. C. J. Montouck, Elizabeth C. Hendrix and Elizabeth Chandler Hendrix to name a few attributed to her. Which coincides with her marriages. I don't know where the name Chandler came from, it may been a second middle name she had or it may been E. C. Hendrix's middle name? She is also mentioned to having written under the name of Elizabeth Roberts and one or two others. Hints of other marriages? I don't know.

On Elizabeth C. Hendrix's IMDb page, she is listed to passing away 23 June 1951 in Los Angeles county, California. There is very little information shared about her on that page. I have her living in California prior to her oldest daughter's second marriage in 1931 in California. I will hazard a broad guess that Elizabeth C. Hendrix and her daughter, Helen Fielder, may have moved to California between 1912 (year of Anna's first marriage) and 1917 (year of the movie) time period.

Boyd Ward Fielder and Frances Elizabeth Davis's oldest daughter, Anna, married a William Brand in El Paso, Texas in 1912 and they had two daughters before their divorce. Anna later married Henry Bates Willis in 1931, they married in California but they both resided in El Paso prior to and following their marriage. Anna appears to followed her mother's footsteps in terms of having a writing career, she is credited with at least one book but she appears to built her career through writing magazine articles. Anna passed away in El Paso in 1961.

Boyd Ward Fielder and Frances Elizabeth Davis's younger daughter, Helen, married Ferdinand J. Lopez and they had one son. She is said to also been a writer to magazines. Helen passed away in Los Angeles county, California in 1958.

Harvey S. Wampler 1828 - 1885

Harvey S. Wampler is a descendant of Hans George Wampler, son of Hans Peter Wampfler Sr., and Elizabeth Stephan/Steffey, daughter of Johannes Ulrich Stephan/Steffey and Anna Schirmer. Harvey is also one of the brothers of Rufus Morgan Wampler, who would been my 2x great-grandfather.

[hg3-57] Harvey S, WAMPLER
  b. 1828
  m. Martha HARRISON
  l. [he1-8]Hans->[hg2-9]Jacob=>
-- Source: Wampler/Wampfler database

Harvey is hinted to being born in Virginia, probably Wythe county, in 1828 or 1829. I listed the 1828 year on my side based off majority of census reports that leaned to that year. US Census reports listed both Indiana and Virginia for his place of birth, however, I am leaning to Virginia due to his siblings.

"107 HARVEY S. WAMPLER, b. ca 1829; d. in Knox County, Indiana on 21 Sep 1885. He could have been the Harvey S. Wampler who was married in Knox County, Indiana, on 30 Oct 1862, to Martha J. Harrison. He was enumerated in the 1880 Census of Knox County. They had six or more children..."
-- Source: Page 55 of "Wamplers in America" by John E. Shouse; 1981

Martha J. [Jane?] Harrison is said to been the daughter of James H. Harrison and Mary Jane Steffey. Her mother, Mary Jane, is listed as being a child of Henry Steffey Jr and Christine Staley. Henry Steffey Jr's father was a brother of Elizabeth Stephan/Steffey - so he was a son of Johannes Ulrich Stephan/Steffey and Anna Schirmer. Sharing that in fo for those who try to keep some track of the intermarriage that occurred in Wampler and/or Steffey family trees.

Martha Jane is said to been born in 1840 and probably in Virginia. An H. S. Wampler and M. J. Harrison married in Knox county, Indiana on 30 November 1862. Martha is said to passed away in February of 1914 in Knox county, Indiana. On the Indiana death certificate her name is listed as Mary, not Martha, and mother is listed to being Mary Jane Steffy but her father's first name not listed and he is listed being a Wampler, not a Harrison. I am not discounting the death record to being for Martha Jane Harrison Wampler, however with the intermarriage that went on between the lines/generations, I am going to see if I can find something else to help confirm it is her. So far I have not come across an obit or death notice shared for her in the local papers.

A Harvey Wampler is listed in the 1870 US Census in Knox County with a wife, Martha, and 2 children, Joseph, age 6, and Elizabeth, age 2. I have seen Joseph and Elizabeth listed being born in 1854 and 1859, but that clashes with the marriage info and with the 1860 and later US census reports, in terms of age listed for them. So, on my side, I am basing those two children's birth years off the 1870 US Census that they first appear in; Joseph Wampler, 1864, and Elizabeth, 1869.

Also, Harvey S. Wampler did not pass away in Knox county, Indiana and he did not die on 21 September 1885. Per a local newspaper, Harvey was hospitalized in May of 1885 and he died in Indianapolis, Marion county, Indiana on 17 September 1885, a Thursday, at the Insane Hospital. His body was shipped to Bruceville, Knox county, Indiana and it arrived on 18 September 1885, a Friday. The 21 September date is a Monday, and I am assuming, given the time line, the date of his burial in Knox county, Indiana.

Here is the information, from a local newspaper, that I used to base the dates of Harvey S. Wampler's hospitalization being on/about 27 May 1885, death being 17 September 1885 in Indianapolis, and subsequent burial thoughts in Knox county, Indiana on my side of working on the family tree:

From Wednesday's Daily, May 20
... Harvey S. Wampler, who was about town, this morning, apparently insane, ought to be restrained. He has been locked up.
-- Source: The Vincennes Weekly Western Sun - Page 3 - 22 May 1885

From Friday's Daily Mail, May 29
... Sheriff Seddelmeyer took H. S. Wampler to the Insane Hospital at Indianapolis, Wednesday. He was accompanied by Jo Keifer.
-- Source: The Vincennes Weekly Western Sun - Page 1 - 5 Jun 1885

The remains of Harvey Wampler were shipped to Bruceville last Friday. He died in the Insane Hospital, at Indianapolis, the day before.
-- Source: The Vincennes Weekly Western Sun - Page 3 - 25 Sep 1885

I have come across names of six children attributed to Harvey S. Wampler and Martha Jane Harrison: Joseph [1864-?], Elizabeth [1869-?], Mary [1871-1938], (Flora?) Della [1872-?], Lillian "Lillie" [1876-?] and Dove N. [1881-?]. If following the intermarriage chain, the children would be descendants of Hans George Wampler Sr and Elizabeth Stephan/Steffey and Elizabeth's brother, Henry Stephan/Steffey and Louisa/Levicy [Phillippi?]. I am currently working on picking up the paper trail of the children, I know at least of 2 of the daughters married and one had at least 8 children and the other had 6 to 7 children.

John W. Martin 1835-1902

In the prior post I shared, about Johann Leonard Wampler and two of his eight children, John W. Martin makes his appearance into the family tree's branches.

He first appears in the 1840 US census for his grandfather's household. However, 1840 censuses only listed - by name - the head of the household (and sometimes not always by their name but in some instances as Widow [Surname] which there are a few of those in the 1840 census, if curious). John W. Martin is listed with the tally mark for "Males under the age of 10" line.

Birth year remains consistently listed, in later census reports, to being 1835. Location of his birth flips back and forth between Indiana and Illinois. But I am getting ahead of myself...

I have not located any records of Ann(a) Catherine Wampler's first marriage outside of what is shared in an obit someone shared on her FindAGrave Memorial page. From the obit we get the following information about the marriage:
·   She remained in the Illinois/Indiana area after her parents decided to return to Preble county, Ohio,
·   It may been a short marriage that ended due to the death of John W. Martin's father, John Martin, from cholera in Louisiana. The obit's wording is unclear if he died prior or after their son's birth. The marriage may have taken place between 1832 to early 1835 time frame,
·   Due to the death of the elder John Martin, Ann(a) Catherine returned to her parents' home in Preble county, Ohio.

John W. Martin's own paper trail shares that his parent's marriage was possibly interracial. In census reports, John W. Martin's father is listed to been born in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and "unknown".

His mother's parents and oldest brother went from Preble county, Ohio to Wabash county, Indiana around 1847/48. He and his mother are listed, with the surname of Wampler, on the 1850 US census of his Uncle William Wampler along with another nephew of his uncle (and his mother) named William M. Wampler. In the 1850 US Census he is marked as Mulatto.

In the 1860 and 1880 US Censuses, where he is living in his mother's home, he is listed as White. 1870 US Census he is listed as White and to be living next to his mother's residence/farm. Then in the 1900 US Census he is listed as Black, as he is also listed on his 1902 Indiana death certificate.

John W. Martin appears to have married only once. His wife, whose Find A Grave memorial page shares a headstone cared with the name Mary M., died in July of 1883 at the age of 24. According to my personal research, the head stone is incorrect about her name. John W. Martin is mentioned in the North Manchester Journal as to marrying Helena Fultz in February of 1883. A later notice, in the same newspaper in August of 1883, shares an "in memory of" advertisement placed by a social organization for Lena Martin who died July 25, 1883 and left a husband, John Martin, and a child. She is buried in the family cemetery of John W. Martin's stepfather's family. I have not come across a copy of the marriage record, they are said to have married in Canada. We see Lena Fultz in the 1880 US Census as she is listed in Ann(a) Catherine's household as "servant". When we get to John and Lena's child, further in the post, it helps further piece things together that John's wife was Helena "Lena" Fultz.

Mrs. John Martin died yesterday morning leaving a babe but a few days old. Funeral at the house to-day at 10 o'clock. Services by the Rev. E. D. Smith.
The Journal North Manchester IN - 26 Jul 1883 Page 3

The "babe" mentioned in the death notice is John W. Martin's daughter, Lena Martin, who appears with him in the 1900 US Census. It is after that census Lena Martin becomes a bit of a mystery.

13 May 1902 John W. Martin passes away, from brain fever, in a Wabash county poor farm. He has two Find A Grave Memorial pages, one that says he is buried on the grounds of the county poor farm is not correct as his death certificate shares his body to be buried in the North Manchester area - which leans to the Find A Grave Memorial for him being buried in the Swank (family) cemetery, nest to his wife and in with other family members, being the right one. An Ervin Thompson was the informant for John W's death certificate, which may be why the parents are listed as "unknown". What is curious is that neither of John's half-brothers (Daniel D. Swank and Jacob L. Swank), any of their children nor his own daughter listed as the informant - but somehow the county poor farm and/or the informant got the information on where the body was to be buried. I have not located a death notice, or obit, for John W. Martin to be able to see if his daughter is mentioned in it.

So, from this point on, it is speculation only on if the Lena Martin listed in two marriage records for Marion county, Indiana is John W. Martin's daughter who was born in Wabash county, Indiana in 1883. A Lena Martin marries a Wilson in Marion county in 1903 - she lists her father to being John W. Martin and mother's maiden name to being Foltz. Her birth year is listed as 1882. In the second marriage record, before 1910, Lena Martin (that name) lists she is a widow and that her father was John W. [Surname not listed] and her mother's maiden name was Felts. I come across a Richard Shaw in the 1920 census for marion county, Indiana - he is listed as a boarder and being widowed, I don't see him nor Lena in the 1910 census.

What we do know, thanks to his mother's obit and his paper trail, is that John W. Martin is a descendant of Johannes Christian Wampfler and, his wife, Anna Tritten; their son Christian Wampler and, his wife, Justina Magdalena Cristillus; their son, Johannes [John] Wampler and his wife, Dorothea Hiller; their son, Johann Leonard Wampler and his wife, Ann(a) Mary (Maria) Martin; and their daughter, Ann(a) Catherine Wampler.