Thomas Agin was born in Ireland, probably in the 1820s or 1830s, and in 1859 immigrated to the United States.

Thomas "Agen" and Rachel Timmons were married on 15 December 1869 in Madison County, Ohio. (Thomas marked—not signed—the license. Rachel, a daughter of Jemima (née Allen) and Joel Painter, had previously married Francis M. Timmons on 21 November 1866 in Madison County.) The couple's first child, Alexander, was born on 1 December 1869 California, Fairfield Township, Madison County.*

The Agin family was enumerated in 1870, 1880, and 1900 in Fairfield Township, Madison County. These census records reveal considerable hardship. He was marked as being disabled in the 1880 U.S. Census. In the 1900 U.S. Census, reportedly age 72, he was a day laborer, and wife was shown to have had 13 children, of whom only 5 were living. Thomas Agin died probably between the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Censuses. In the 1910 U.S. Census, Rachel Agin (although marked as being married) appears to be a widow, working as housekeeper.

Thomas Agin's date and place of death have not been discovered, and his burial place is not known. A guess: Infirmary Cemetery, London, Madison County, Ohio, where his brother-in-law John Painter (died 1900) was buried.

Notes

Many variant spellings of surname.

Census records indicate a date of birth from about 1825 to 1835. Apr 1828 reported in 1900 U.S. Census.

He does not appear to have been a soldier in the Civil War. (Rachel Agin did not receive a pension as a veteran's widow.)

The Irish-born Thomas Agin in Dane Co., Wisconsin, is a different person. (U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865, and 1870 U.S. Census.) The Irish-born Thomas Agin in Cincinnati, Ohio, is also a different person.

Marriage records from Madison County Ohio Genealogy and History (online database).

1870 U.S. Census, California, Fairfield Twp., Madison Co., Ohio; dwelling 235, family 228, lines 18-20, p. 634 (printed), p. 31 (written), 28 Jul 1870. (Post Office: London)

18. "Hagans," Thomas, 35, laborer ($400; $300), Ireland.

19. ----- Rachel, 25, keeping house, Ohio.

20. ----- Alexander, 7/12, at home, Ohio (born in Nov).

1880 U.S. Census, E.D. 67, California, Fairfield Twp., Madison Co., Ohio; dwelling 235, family 239, lines 47-50 and 1, pp. 246B-347 (printed), pp. 28-29 (written), 5 Jul 1880.

47. Agin, Thomas, 55 [head], laborer; self and parents born in Ireland.

48. ----- Rachel, 38, keeping house; self and parents born in O [Ohio].

49. ----- Alexander, 11, son, O.

50. ----- Oscar, 8, son, O.

1. Painter, John, 48, boarder, laborer; self and parents born in O.

• Thomas Agin and his wife's brother John Painter both marked in column 20: "Maimed, Crippled, Bedridden, or otherwise disabled." Both could neither read nor write.

• The family resided along an alley.

1900 U.S. Census, E.D. 59, Fairfield Twp., Madison Co., Ohio; dwelling 104, family 105, lines 31-33, p. 39 (written), p. 5A (printed), 5 Jun 1900.

31. Ellison, Alex, head, Mar 1832, 68, widowed, Virginia.

32. Agin, Thos., boarder, Apr 1828, 72, married 31 years; self and parents born in Ireland; arrived in U.S. 1859, resident for 41 years, naturalized, day laborer.

33. Agin, Rachel, boarder, May 1842, 58, married 31 years, 13 children (5 living); born in Ohio, parents in Pennsylvania.

• On the same page: Emaline Grubb, mother of Mary Grubb, wife of Alexander Agins.

Thomas Agin died apparently between the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Census enumerations.

1910 U.S. Census, E.D. 16, Jefferson Twp., Franklin Co., Ohio; dwelling 236, family 241, lines 74-75, p. 294B (printed), p. 10B (written), 10 May 1910.

74. Looker, Thomas, head, 65, single, Ohio, farm labor.

75. "Again," Rachel, housekeeper, 65, "M2" (second marriage), married "18 years," no children; born in Ohio, parents in Pennsylvania.

Thomas and Rachel Agin were also the parents of Andy, born 9 May 1883 in California, Madison Co. (California, in Fairfield Twp., is now called Big Plain.)

* The county birth record omits the names of the parents, but Alexander "Agins" 1939 death certificate identifies them.

Additional research notes

Immigration or naturalization records not found. A Civil War draft registration record from Ohio not found.

A person named Francis M. Timmons, a Civil War vet., died on 25 Mar 1867. He served in an Illinois regiment, and was buried in Livingston Co., Illinois. (See: Find a Grave Memorial ID: 18372377.) Is this the same Francis M. Timmons who married in 1866 in Ohio?

Reviewed 6 April 2024.