Jessie Venona Wiles was the fourth and youngest daughter of Eliza A. (née Nelson) and Henry Greenberry Wiles. Jessie was only a few months old when her mother died, and she was brought up by Melissa Wiles, her maternal aunt and step-mother.

Jessie V. Wiles of Hagerstown, Maryland, and Jacob D. Zittle of Omaha, Nebraska were married on 24 May 1893 in Hagerstown. The couple resided in Omaha, where their only child, Ruth Malinda, was born 11 April 1894.

After the death of her husband in 1909, Jessie V. Zittle remained until at least 1920 in Omaha, where she was an organist and music teacher. She later returned to Maryland, and died in the home of her niece and niece's husband, Minnie Louise (née Bodmer) and the Rev. Harry Stockton Myerly. Jessie was buried in a Bodmer lot near her sister Carrie Melissa Bodmer.

"ROCKVILLE, Md., April 11 (Special).—Following an illness of several months, Mrs. Jessie V. Zittle, widow of Jacob D. Zittle, died Tuesday night at the home of Rev. and Mrs. H. Stockton Myerly, at Colesville. She is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Forest Burgess of Chicago, and two sisters, Mrs. Jacob Bodmer of Poolesville and Mrs. J. W. Bayhoff [sic ] of Mount Rainier, Md. The funeral will take place this afternoon from the home of Rev. and Mrs. Myerly, burial to be in Monocacy Cemetery, at Beallsville." ("Rockville," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., 11 Apr 1929, (Suburban News section) p. 11, col. 1.) Prior to living in the Myerly home, Jessie Zittle lived with her sister and brother-in-law, Laura and Wesley Dayhoff, at 3761 33rd Street, Mt. Rainier, Maryland.

Notes

1870 U.S. Census, District 14 (Jefferson), Frederick Co., Maryland; dwelling 2, family 2, lines 8-17, p. 531 (printed), p. 21 (written), 1 Aug 1870.
8. Wiles, Henry G. [head], 43, carpenter ($1,600; $500), Maryland.
9. ----- Melissa, 42, Maryland.
10. ----- Fannie [Richards], 18, Maryland.
11. ----- Rignal D. [Richards], 16, Maryland.
12. ----- Laura D., 15, Maryland.
13. ----- Lizzie D., 11, Maryland.
14. ----- Elizza May [Richards], 9, Maryland.
15. ----- Carrie M., 9, Maryland.
16. ----- Jessie B., 4, Maryland.
17. ----- Frank, 10/12, Maryland.
• Laura, Lizzie, Carrie, and Jessie were Henry's children with his first wife Eliza. Fannie, "Rignal," and "Elizza May" Richards were Melissa's children with her first husband David Richards. Frank was Henry's and Melissa's son.

1880 U.S. Census, E.D. 162, Hagerstown, Washington Co., Maryland; North Potomac St., dwelling 127, family 142, lines 39-44, p. 344B (printed), p. 14 (written), 7 Jun 1880.
39. Wiles, Henry, 52, widowed, carpenter, born in Maryland; parents in Md.
40. ----- Lizzie, 21, daughter, keeping house, Maryland.
41. ----- Carrie, 19, daughter, Maryland.
42. ----- Jessie, 13, daughter, Maryland.
43. ----- Franklin, 10, son, Maryland.
44. ----- Charlie, 8, son, Maryland.
45. Richards, Liza, 19, s[tep] daughter, born in Maryland; parents in Md.
• Daughter Bertha Olivia, age 6, omitted.

Marriage license: Jacob D. Zittle, age 30, Omaha, Neb. & Jessie V. Wiles, 26, Hagerstown, Md., 24 May 1893, Hagerstown, Washington Co., Maryland (license #3073). Image of original. Washington County Free Library, "Washington County MD Marriages 1893 (2881-3405)."

1900 U.S. Census, E.D. 72, Ward 7, Omaha, Douglas Co., Nebraska; dwelling 35, family 42, lines 59-61, p. 197B (printed), p. 2 (written), 1-2 Jun 1900.
59. Zittle, Jacob D., head, Dec 1862, 37, married 7 years; born in Maryland, parents in Maryland; life insurance.
60. ----- Jessie V., wife, Aug 1867, 32, married 7 years, 1 child (living); born in Maryland, parents in Maryland.
61. ----- Ruth M., daughter, Apr 1894, 6; born in Nebraska, parents in Maryland; at school.

Enumerated in 1910 and 1920 in Omaha.

The submitter's mother, who was born after her grandmother Jessie had passed away, was told that Jessie, rather than moving to the Chicago area where her daughter Ruth lived, elected to return to Maryland so that she could live near her sisters with whom she was very close.

Great-grandmother of submitter.

Reviewed 10 January 2022.