James Joslin :: 1841 Sale of Land to Lysander

On July 2, 1841 James Joslin and Abigail, his wife, sold 40 acres of the original 80 that he had purchased from the United States on September 20, 1837 in Whitley County, Indiana to Lysander Price Joslin for $50.

The unusual thing about the transaction, at least to me, is that Lysander was only 16 years old at the time of the transaction. Then, three years later, on August 1, 1844 James and Abigail sold the remaining 40 acres (20 acres each) to Edwin M. and Joseph A. Joslin. (Those two records will be posted in the near future.) Edwin was only 14 years old at the time and Joseph was a month shy of 12. Edwin and Joseph each paid $50 for their 20 acres of land. If long time readers think all this sounds a bit familiar, it's because I mentioned these transactions briefly back in October ...

As I said back then, it just makes you wonder what was really going on. There must have been a reason that James and Abigail sold the land to their young sons (presuming that they are their sons) but I doubt that we will ever know why.

For some reason, I always thought that there was a minimum age of 18 or 21 for purchasing land, but apparently there isn't. The only reference I've found to the legal age for buying land was a post on a mailing list that says that a person did not have to be 21 to own land, whether by purchase, grant or inheritance. But, he did have to be 21 to sell it.

My research notes show that Lysander purchased Edwin's 20 acres on January 21, 1851 for $200. Edwin turned 21 the previous December. Joseph sold his 20 acres to Lysander on November 1, 1853 for $300. Joseph had turned 21 in September.

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Whitley County, Indiana
Deed Book A Page 505
Dated July 2, 1841
Filed June 13th 1842
Recorded June 16, 1842

505

[Written in left hand column] Filed June 13th 1842

This Indenture made this Second day of July in the Year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty one by and Between James Joslin and Abigail his wife of the County of Whitley and State of Indiana of the first part and Lysander Price Joslin of the County and State aforesaid of the Second part. Witnesseth that the said party of the first part for and in consideration of the just and lawful sum to them paid of Fifty Dollars the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged by the said party of the first part hath granted bargained Sold and Conveyed and by these presents doth grant bargain Sell and Convey unto the Said party of the Second part his heirs and assigns forever all the following described premises to wit. The South half of the East half of the North west quarter of Section Twenty five in Township No Thirty two North of Range Eight East Containing forty acres according to the original Survey. To have and to hold the above described premises hereby Sold and Conveyed unto the Said party of the Second part his heirs and assigns forever together with all the hereditament and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining unto the party of the Second part to his own proper use benefit and behoof. And the Said party of the first part for themselves their heirs executors and administrators hereby covenant to and with the Said party of the Second part his heirs executors administrators and assigns that they the Said party of the first part are the lawful owners of the Said premises and have good right full power and lawful authority to Sell and convey the Same in manner aforesaid that the same are free from all incumbrances and that the Said party of the first part will Forever Warrant and Defend the Same against the claim or claims of all and every person or persons whomsever.

In testimony whereof the Said James Joslin and Abigail his wife have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and Year first above written.

James Joslin {Seal}
Abigail Joslin {Seal}

Signed Sealed and delivered }
In presence of
James Grant
Sarah Ann Pierce

State of Indiana Whitley County } SS

Personally came before me the Subscriber a Justice of the Peace in and for Said County James Joslin and Abigail wife of the Said James Joslin Known to me to be the grantors named in the above Deed of conveyance and acknowledged that they signed and Sealed the Same for the use and purposes therein expressed And the Said Abigail wife of the aforesaid James Joslin being by me examined Seperate and apart from the Said husband acknowledged that She executed the Same freely and without any fear or compulsion from her Said husband.

Given under my hand and Seal this Second day of July in the Year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty one.

James Grant J.P. {seal}
Recorded June 16th 1842

Grandma's Story

After spending a great deal of time the past few days trying to decide who to write about for the "International Women's Day Challenge" I've selected my grandmother, Hazlette Aileen Brubaker Phend Dunn Ferguson (1902-1984).

Stages of life: 1902, 1910, about 1948, 1980.

In many ways Grandma was an "ordinary" person, but at the same time, she was really quite extraordinary. There were many sides to her personality. There were times, as a teenager and young adult, that I didn't "like" my grandmother. Some things were done and said that haven't been forgotten, though they have been forgiven. But even though I didn't always like her, I did love her and, I think more importantly, respected her very much.

Grandma's parents, Charles R. and Maud Wise Brubaker, moved from Whitley County, Indiana to Lorain, Ohio shortly after the death of their first child, John Wise Brubaker, on February 24, 1901. He was born prematurely and died 8 days after his birth. Maud's brother Harry and other relatives lived at Lorain. Grandma was born there on January 16, 1902. She was also born premature, weighing only 2 1/2 pounds. When she was 6 months old, the family moved back to Whitley County.

Her parents had a somewhat tumultuous relationship, which I am sure affected her in many ways. Grandma did not graduate from high school as she had a "nervous spell" when about 12 years old and never returned to school. When she was 15 years old, after recuperating from appendicitis and an operation, she began working as a telephone operator. She worked at several telephone companies in the area through World War I then got a job as an office clerk and "girl Friday" and learned bookkeeping.

On October 15, 1921 grandma married Rolland Victor Phend. They had five children between 1922 and 1934. They divorced in 1937 and grandma and the children moved to Elkhart. There she baked pies for her brothers restaurant, cleaned houses, took in a boarder with two little girls, and eked out a living. Then her grandmother, Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower died and left her an inheritance of $500.00 which was enough to purchase a small house in Larwill.

Grandpa and Grandma remarried in 1939 and purchased a larger home in Larwill. She worked for a trucking company in Fort Wayne for a while, and then went to work for Jewell Tea Company. She drove a truck for them for two years during World War II then went to work for an insurance company. A few years later, they divorced again and Grandma moved to Auburn in DeKalb county. The three youngest children remained in Larwill with Grandpa.

In 1945 Grandma was married to Harold Dunn, but that didn't work out either. She worked for a dry cleaning business, then a milling company. During this time she took a high school course and learned the double entry system of bookkeeping. Changing jobs once again, she went to work for a Chevrolet & Buick dealership in Auburn as head bookkeeper. She belonged to and was an officer in BPW (Business & Professional Women) and worked in the Methodist Church.

About 1958 she moved to Fort Wayne and became manager of Miller's Ice Cream store and restaurant, at Five Points on Goshen Road. A few years later she moved to North Webster and opened her own restaurant which provided jobs for many family members, including myself.

In 1964, Grandma was married to Ray Ferguson. He died in 1967. I graduated from High School in 1966 and 3 years later joined the Navy, so I was pretty much gone from the area until 1979.

In 1972, after a visit from a distant cousin, Grandma began writing her life story and family history. She wrote: "When we were going thru Grandma Brubaker's letters from her parents and her sisters, I began to realize how important they were to Helen and me even though they were very poorly written and not always well done as to spelling and punctuation. So I have decided to write as I feel the urge and as I remember things and have a lot of enjoyment in doing it this way. Working with Helen I became enthused again with the genealogy and have worked all day on the records. I had planned on writing a book so that my children might know more about their ancestry. I am afraid I am too lazy and I know that I have no talent for writing. My typing is almost as bad as my handwriting and my spelling is outrageous."

At that time she only wrote a few pages but picked it up again in 1976 after being diagnosed with cancer. On August 4, 1976 she wrote: "Well, I did get a little writing done. I do hope some one of you kids enjoy it. Maybe one of the grandchildren or great grandchildren will really get some good out of it." Little did she know what she had started! She was right, her spelling was bad and her handwriting was terrible! But it was legible and we (her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren) have all enjoyed it. Her writings "Tales From the Life of Hazlette Brubaker" have been transcribed and posted online at my Kinexxions website. I can only hope that others enjoy her story as much as we have and I am ever so thankful that she took the time to write them down for us!

Grandma passed away at the age of 82, on May 3, 1984 after having suffered the indignities of losing a leg and having a colostomy. I think she hated that colostomy bag even more than losing her leg! But she dealt with it. She was a stubborn lady who just didn't ever give up, a trait that has been passed down to more than one of her children and grandchildren.

Updated January 3, .. Changed link to "Tales From the Life of Hazlette Brubaker" to a blog post. Kinexxions website will be taken offline the first of March and the articles on the website are moving to the blog.

Sweet Home Alabama - the locals

If You Like It, Get Two... or Three

Last week I was excited to learn about the new bicycle blog started by the fascinating and knowledgeable Justine Valinotti: Mid-Life Cycling.



[image via Justine Valinotti]



Justine is a writer and a college instructor who lives in Queens and blithely cycles all over New York for transportation and recreation. This is a departure from her cycling past: the past of a lycra-wearing, hard-training, fast-spinning, Alps-conquering roadie... named Nick. As the meaning of this sinks in, it is self-evident why Justine's point of view is so valuable. She has experienced the cycling world from two diametrically opposed perspectives: that of a competitive male roadie, and that of a woman who cycles to work in a skirt and heels - and she has much to share about both.



[image via Justine Valinotti]



And then there are Justine's spectacular bicycles!... She has two custom-built, lugged steel Mercians: a roadbike and a single-speed fixed gear, both in an intriguing colour that Mercian calls "flip-flop purple green." It looks lilac under some lighting conditions, but changes to green under others.



[image via Justine Valinotti]



Here is a close-up where you can sort of see the colour change on the rear stays. Justine likes both the Mercians and the colour so much, that she has recently ordered a third one: a mixte model called the Miss Mercian. For those interested in custom lugged mixtes, Mercian is a great option in addition to Rivendell and Velo Orange: The frames come in custom sizes and are fairly priced - including custom colour.



Because I respect her opinion on bicycle-related matters, Justine's preference for Mercian Cycles has made me curious. Mercian has been handbuilding custom lugged steel frames since 1946 in Derby, England. Their models include track, road, and touring diamond frames, as well as a touring mixte. Some vintage Mercian models had elaborate lugwork and are now highly collectible. Over the decades, Mercian's reputation for quality has not changed, and whether in bike shops or on cycling forums, you will be hard pressed to find anything but positive feedback about them - which is particularly impressive considering their reasonable pricing.



[image via Mark Gell on flickr]



This sage green trackbike is the sort of Mercian I would not mind falling into my lap...



[image via Justine Valinotti]



But for now I will live vicariously through Justine and look forward to seeing her Miss Mercian all built up: no doubt there are some interesting adventures in its future. Justine has toured extensively on her trusty bicycles, including such dreamy routes as the Loire Valley of France, the Mediterranean coast, the Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. Her descriptions of cycling routes are filled with interesting information and nostalgia, making even a ride through New Jersey sound intriguing. And you know she is a practical woman, as she wisely heeds the old adage when it comes to bicycles: If you like something, get two... or three!

Large Rock Avalanches on the Nisqually

OK, folks, there're some major rock avalanches happening on the Nisqually Glacier. Anyone venturing near the Nisqually or even traversing across it lower down to get across to the Fan should read this post. We're not talking about a bunch of rocks, but many thousands of tons of debris in a 50' wall of snow, ice, water, dust, and rock coming down the glacier that would outrun anything in its path.


Rangers, climbers, and guides at Camp Muir first were aware when these series of slides started on the 24th of June. Rangers reported feeling the earth shake and hearing a very loud rumble. Indeed, you can tell from extent of airborne dust in the picture above that it must have been loud. Shortly after the slide occurred, the geologists at the Cascades Volcano Observatory called us and asked us what was up. Below is the seismograph reading during the event.Here's a quote from one of the original emails between the NPS and USGS. - "FYI about 10 minutes ago the climbing rangers at Camp Muir saw what they all described as the biggest icefall they've ever seen come off the Nisqually. A guide party at 8,000 ft on the Wilson glacier reported that it had multiple fingers & traveled down to about 7,800 ft. They also described it as the biggest icefall they've ever seen anywhere.
The rangers at Muir described the debris as a mix of rock & ice and being about 50 feet thick but couldn't judge the acreage covered as it is hard to see the entire run-out zone from Muir. " from Ranger Ben Guttridge.

After I heard about the slide, and saw it from my house in Packwood, I decided to hop in my airplane and take a ride towards the mountain to get some pictures as close as I could.


All in all, there have been three slides of this size in the last two days. Right now, we don't recommend crossing the Nisqually Glacier at all - although at this time, the park has not declared a "closure" of the area. If you are intent on doing the Kautz Glacier route, think about accessing the base of the route by Comet Falls trailhead. Click on this link for a Google Earth KMZ file of the approximate extent of the series of avalanches. Also, here is the screenshot of this file from Google Earth.

Location, Lock-ation...

The Co-Habitant started a new job this week, and with it a new commute. The trip is about the same distance as before, but his cycling ritual is much changed. Previously, he rode to work on hisfully loadedPashley Roadster, which he would lock up in the secure bicycle cage inside the building's parking garage. The new job's parking facilities are less secure, and it is in an area where he does not feel comfortable leaving hisPashleyon the street all day. So he will now be commuting on his oldMotobecaneroadbike,which he has stripped down to the bare bones. This is what Myles looks like in his normal role as touring bike. And above is the new pared-down version: No saddlebag, no twined water bottles, no pump under the top tube. A U-Lock and an extra long cable lock are wrapped around the seat cluster. The battery headlight on the fork is detachable, and the tail light will now be attached to the messenger bag he plans to carry.



The Co-Habitant's response to his new commute underscores the differences in our attitudes toward bicycle security. HisPashley is a comfortable, upright bicycle and if it were me, I would continue to ride it despite the change of location and the less than ideal parking situation. I would remove the Pashley's luggage, get a detachable pannier for the rear rack, use a U-lock plus long cable combination, lock it up outside and stop worrying about it. But then again, some would say that my own lock-up methods are scandalously lax, because I typically just use a cable lock. In short, the Co-Habitant and I are separate people and often our views on things differ. I respect that he does not want his "nice" bicycle to get stolen, but it just seems like such a shame to ride an aggressive roadbike (with clipless pedals!)to work and carry all his stuff in a messenger bag, when he owns the perfect commuter bike.

How much of a factor is the location of your job (or residence) in your choice of what bicycle to ride and in your lock-up methods?

Lions, Tigers and Bears

Or maybe it is more panthers, otters and bears. I love that the Wildlife Refuge is right across the street. Even though it is quite small, it is great that I can scoot over there and visit for an hour or so and spend time watching animals. They are all so beautiful in their own way.

There were two bears, but only one would come out to let me take his picture.

I told Nathan that I was going to see if I could get the cats to talk to me here too, after my experience in Hershey's Zoo. Sure enough, the cat did the same thing here. I talked and it would talk back. I thought maybe there was something to me being a cat whisperer but then another lady walked up and the cat did the same thing to her. Guess that is not my superpower after all. I still enjoyed chatting with the cat, even if it was not exclusive.

What? You have problems with your male leaving his dirty socks on the floor too?

The otters were surprisingly lazy today.

I'm not a fan of the above animal, but they are everywhere so I have to include some shots of them. I am hoping to get over to visit this place more often this year, and hope to revisit the Lipizzaner horses too. We missed both of them last year since we weren't here.



Living the life in Florida!