Tombstone Tuesday: Margaretta Shankle Space

Second great-grandmother, Margaretta Ann Shankle, was a pioneer in every sense of the word.

The second child of the eleven known children of Jacob Shankle and Rachel Click, Margaretta (aka Margaret) was born 17 April 1828 in Pennsylvania. The family is known to have been living in New Bethlehem, Clarion county, PA, by 1842. Margaret married Zephaniah Space on 19 Nov 1847 and by the early 1850's Margaret and Zeph emigrated to northern Wisconsin with their two children, Allen Zephaniah and Sarah Etta, settling in the village of Jenny on the shores of the Wisconsin River.

Zephaniah and Margaret ran one of the early boarding houses before building one of the first hotels which they named "The Clarion House." For unknown reasons, the name was changed afterwards to "The Eagle House." Land and court documents show the couple preferred to sign their names as 'Z. Space" and "M.A. Space." As the logging industry began to expand in this area of the state, relatives on both sides of the the family relocated to Jenny, now known as the city of Merrill. While some remained for a short time or a 'season', many put down roots and settled in what eventually became Lincoln county. Two of Margaret's sisters, Catherine and Sarah, both called Jenny home but only Sarah remained a resident. Catherine's daughter, Sarah Etta Frazier, and two nephews, Oscar Luzerne Frazier and William Marvin Andrew Frazier all made Jenny their permanent home.

Margaret and Zephaniah were granted a divorce on 16 April 1877, the day before Margaret's 49th birthday after almost 30 years of marriage. As part of the settlement, Margaret became the sole owner of The Eagle House as well as the title to a number of land purchases she had made over the years; enough to have a subdivision named "M.A. Space" as well as prime land along the Wisconsin River. Following the death of her daughter in 1903, Margaret amended her will to include the directive that upon her death, the land along the Wisconsin River would be sold and given to her granddaughters as they would need to have money of their own "apart from their husbands."

Money Margaret had received as part of her inheritance from her father was used to purchase land in north central Iowa, where Margaret, son Allen and his family relocated in the late 1880's until 1894 when the family returned to northern Wisconsin. While Margaret no longer had a home in Merrill, she divided her time between her two nephews, Allen and Nancy's home in Langlade county, as well as numerous trips to visit daughter Sarah Etta McCord, now living in the territory of Arizona, as well as lengthy trips back to Clarion county, PA.

Margaret died at the home of Allen and Nancy on 27 Nov 1904.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Tombstone Tuesday: Margaretta Shankle Space

Margaretta Ann Space, otherwise known as Margaret Ann and as M.A. Space, was my second great grandmother.

Born 17 April 1828, possibly in Union County, PA, she was the oldest known daughter of Jacob Shankle and Rachel Click.

Margaretta married Zephaniah Allen Space on 19 Nov 1847 in Armstrong County, PA. The couple had two children: Allen Zephaniah (my great-grandfather) born in 1848 and Sarah Etta in 1853. Both children were born in New Bethlehem, Clarion County, PA.

Shortly after Allen's birth, Zeph traveled to northern Wisconsin to Jenny Bull Falls; a new settlement where investors from Clarion county were beginning to harvest the huge tracts of pine. Zeph and Margaret immigrated to the area shortly after the birth of Sarah Etta. Zeph and Margaret were employed at one of the early hotels but it wasn't long before they established their own hotel. Initially called The Clarion they later changed the name to The Eagle House. The couple played an important role in helping to establish Jenny as one of the important places along the Wisconsin River.

The couple divorced in 1877 after almost 30 years of marriage. Margaret continued to run The Eagle House with the assistance of Allen, who was now married to Nancy Ann Stone. Sarah Etta had married prominent businessman and politician Myron Hawley McCord. Zeph relocated to an area of the county that was just beginning to be settled, eventually starting a new life with his second wife, Harriet Fryer, and eventually another daughter, Olive.

Margaret proved to be a shrewd businesswoman in her own right. At the time of her death in November 1904, among her holdings, she owned all the property along the Wisconsin River in the city of Merrill. Margaret's will indicated her wish that upon her death, this property was to be sold and given to her granddaughters.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Fearless Females: Nancy Ann Stone Space

Today's blogging prompt to celebrate Women's History Month is: Do you share a first name with one of your female ancestors? Perhaps you were named for your great-grandmother, or your name follows a particular naming pattern. If not, then list the most unique or unusual female first name you’ve come across in your family tree.

While there are several women in my family who have been named in honor of a relative or family friend, I am pleased to say I am the first Cynthia in my family. I have located women who share my name in collateral lines, but in my direct line - I am the first. My middle name, Jane, is courtesy of my maternal grandfather, Harley Space. My grandfather had a fondness for calling little girls Janey. According to my parents, this was the reason for my middle name.

In yesterday's posting I mentioned that the name Sarah Etta was a favorite in my Space family line. My maternal grandmother, Alma Loretta Polar Space, was named after her mother's sister, Alma. My paternal grandfather came from a long line of French Canadian's who were fond of naming patterns - Charles, Nelson, Francis Xavier, Edward, Henry, Jean Baptist - it's enough to cause a meltdown when trying to untangle them all.

The honor of the most unique female first name belongs to my great-grandmother Nancy Ann Stone Space. Grandma Nancy, born June 1854 in Spirit, Wisconsin, was the mother of my mother's father. Shown in the above photo in 1925 with two of her grandchildren, Nancy was the youngest of three children born to Isaac Stone and his Native American wife, who we only know as "Elizabeth". Elizabeth died shortly after Nancy's birth but Isaac managed to continue his logging and trading business while making sure Nancy and her two older brothers, Alvin and Langley, attended school in Jenny, WI (later became the city of Merrill). The family also felt strong ties to the area that became the Lac du Flambeau Reservation where their mother was raised.

Nancy was a very strong willed woman - she had her own horse and buggy and was fond of going off 'to visit.' For many years my mother and her cousins speculated where it was that Grandma Nancy would go. The answer to that question came when I stumbled on an 1896 census for Lac du Flambeau that listed Nancy Space and her children as 'residents'. When the reservation was formed, Nancy wanted to insure that her children would continue to have their right as members of the Lac du Flambeau tribe. It became obvious that her 'visits' consisted of Nancy returning to the reservation during the times when the census was being taken.

Listed alongside the listing of Nancy Space, is the name Equi-sins. The people at the George Brown Ojibwe Museum and Cultural Center at Lac du Flambeau tell me Equi-sins translates as Little Girl. Another common name for Equi-sins? Janey. Maybe I have a namesake after all.

Copyright (c) 2010 Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski

Fearless Females: Sarah Etta Space McCord

Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist has created a series of daily blogging prompts in honor of Women's History Month, which kicked off yesterday, March 1st.

Today's blogging prompt: Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select the photo?

For today's post, I selected a photograph of my great-great- aunt, Sarah Etta Space. Youngest child, and the only daughter, of Zephaniah Allen Space and Margaretta Ann Shankle, Sarah Etta was born 13 May 1853 in New Bethlehem, Clarion county, PA. When she and her brother, Allen, were children, the family immigrated to northern Wisconsin and became one of the pioneer families who settled the village of Jenny, which later became the city of Merrill.

Sarah Etta appears to have been named after her mother's sister, Sarah, and follows a naming pattern with her middle name of Etta. In the Space family, she was always known as Aunt Etta; something that almost derailed a budding genealogist 20+ years ago until I realized Sarah Space and Aunt Etta were one in the same.

This photograph was taken during the time when Sarah and her husband, Myron Hawley McCord were living in Phoenix, Arizonia. Myron, newspaper publisher, lumber baron and politician, had been named as the governer of the Arizona territory. I find it amusing when reading court transcripts that the "First Lady" was known for raising and selling chickens and eggs. Prior to her marriage, Sarah was known for her travels from Jenny to Big Bull Falls (later Wausau), a distance of over 20 miles, to pick up the mail and bring it back to the post office situated in Zeph's hotel, The Eagle House. Sarah Etta made the trip alone on horseback over Indian trails along the Wisconsin River.

I chose this photograph because I see a strong resemblence to my grandfather: the set of the mouth and the auburn hair. By the time this photograph was taken, Sarah's life was not what it appeared to be: there were questions about the legality of the divorce Myron obtained from his first wife, scandal involving Myron's lumber dealings back in Wisconsin, the appointment of Myron as warden in a prison in Arizona and always nearby, Myron's long-time mistress, Mary Emma Winslow.

Sarah Etta died at the age of 50 of a heart ailment. Which isn't surprising.