Contributor: Jay Wright - [email protected]
Beginning at the beginning, Amos was born in July 1848 (on the 2nd, I think, rather than the 4th, but that's a minor issue), and we know his parents and we know that he was married twice (1st in Ohio to Nettie Powell and 2nd in Arizona to Augusta "Gussie" Stocker). I have uploaded images to the memorial (an 1850 census showing him with his parents at age 2, proving his relationship to his parents and his birth year 1848 plus his first marriage record plus his second marriage record). His death certificate (for which you have provided a link) is – obviously through no fault of yours – hopelessly flawed. It says he was born in 1866 (wrong by 18 years!) and that he was age 56 when he died and that he died in 1913. That, of course, is impossible. A man born in 1866 who died at age 56 would die in 1923, not 1913. From the fact that he apparently claimed to be age 50 at the time of his second marriage (see the 50 in the circle next to his name on that marriage record), I think it's not unreasonable to suspect that he deceived his second wife into thinking he was younger than he was, and she unknowingly later provided false information for his death certificate and for his tombstone. It would be easier if we could just say, "Well, there have to have been two different men named Amos G. Owsley/Ousley." But that can't be so, because the Civil War pension record clearly shows his wife as Gussie and identifies Arizona as the place from which the pension claim came, and the death certificate identifies his wife as Augusta/Gussie and identifies his place of birth as Ohio. It all ties together for the Amos who was born in 1848. And, of course, a man born in 1857 (as the grave marker says) would have been too young to have been in the Civil War. Some teenagers signed up for the war by lying about their ages, but not 7- or 8-year-old boys.
Beginning at the beginning, Amos was born in July 1848 (on the 2nd, I think, rather than the 4th, but that's a minor issue), and we know his parents and we know that he was married twice (1st in Ohio to Nettie Powell and 2nd in Arizona to Augusta "Gussie" Stocker). I have uploaded images to the memorial (an 1850 census showing him with his parents at age 2, proving his relationship to his parents and his birth year 1848 plus his first marriage record plus his second marriage record). His death certificate (for which you have provided a link) is – obviously through no fault of yours – hopelessly flawed. It says he was born in 1866 (wrong by 18 years!) and that he was age 56 when he died and that he died in 1913. That, of course, is impossible. A man born in 1866 who died at age 56 would die in 1923, not 1913. From the fact that he apparently claimed to be age 50 at the time of his second marriage (see the 50 in the circle next to his name on that marriage record), I think it's not unreasonable to suspect that he deceived his second wife into thinking he was younger than he was, and she unknowingly later provided false information for his death certificate and for his tombstone. It would be easier if we could just say, "Well, there have to have been two different men named Amos G. Owsley/Ousley." But that can't be so, because the Civil War pension record clearly shows his wife as Gussie and identifies Arizona as the place from which the pension claim came, and the death certificate identifies his wife as Augusta/Gussie and identifies his place of birth as Ohio. It all ties together for the Amos who was born in 1848. And, of course, a man born in 1857 (as the grave marker says) would have been too young to have been in the Civil War. Some teenagers signed up for the war by lying about their ages, but not 7- or 8-year-old boys.
Contributor: Jay Wright - [email protected]
Beginning at the beginning, Amos was born in July 1848 (on the 2nd, I think, rather than the 4th, but that's a minor issue), and we know his parents and we know that he was married twice (1st in Ohio to Nettie Powell and 2nd in Arizona to Augusta "Gussie" Stocker). I have uploaded images to the memorial (an 1850 census showing him with his parents at age 2, proving his relationship to his parents and his birth year 1848 plus his first marriage record plus his second marriage record). His death certificate (for which you have provided a link) is – obviously through no fault of yours – hopelessly flawed. It says he was born in 1866 (wrong by 18 years!) and that he was age 56 when he died and that he died in 1913. That, of course, is impossible. A man born in 1866 who died at age 56 would die in 1923, not 1913. From the fact that he apparently claimed to be age 50 at the time of his second marriage (see the 50 in the circle next to his name on that marriage record), I think it's not unreasonable to suspect that he deceived his second wife into thinking he was younger than he was, and she unknowingly later provided false information for his death certificate and for his tombstone. It would be easier if we could just say, "Well, there have to have been two different men named Amos G. Owsley/Ousley." But that can't be so, because the Civil War pension record clearly shows his wife as Gussie and identifies Arizona as the place from which the pension claim came, and the death certificate identifies his wife as Augusta/Gussie and identifies his place of birth as Ohio. It all ties together for the Amos who was born in 1848. And, of course, a man born in 1857 (as the grave marker says) would have been too young to have been in the Civil War. Some teenagers signed up for the war by lying about their ages, but not 7- or 8-year-old boys.
Beginning at the beginning, Amos was born in July 1848 (on the 2nd, I think, rather than the 4th, but that's a minor issue), and we know his parents and we know that he was married twice (1st in Ohio to Nettie Powell and 2nd in Arizona to Augusta "Gussie" Stocker). I have uploaded images to the memorial (an 1850 census showing him with his parents at age 2, proving his relationship to his parents and his birth year 1848 plus his first marriage record plus his second marriage record). His death certificate (for which you have provided a link) is – obviously through no fault of yours – hopelessly flawed. It says he was born in 1866 (wrong by 18 years!) and that he was age 56 when he died and that he died in 1913. That, of course, is impossible. A man born in 1866 who died at age 56 would die in 1923, not 1913. From the fact that he apparently claimed to be age 50 at the time of his second marriage (see the 50 in the circle next to his name on that marriage record), I think it's not unreasonable to suspect that he deceived his second wife into thinking he was younger than he was, and she unknowingly later provided false information for his death certificate and for his tombstone. It would be easier if we could just say, "Well, there have to have been two different men named Amos G. Owsley/Ousley." But that can't be so, because the Civil War pension record clearly shows his wife as Gussie and identifies Arizona as the place from which the pension claim came, and the death certificate identifies his wife as Augusta/Gussie and identifies his place of birth as Ohio. It all ties together for the Amos who was born in 1848. And, of course, a man born in 1857 (as the grave marker says) would have been too young to have been in the Civil War. Some teenagers signed up for the war by lying about their ages, but not 7- or 8-year-old boys.
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