John M Fishback grew up in a large well-off farming family in Kentucky, the grandson of Virginia farmers. He was the 4th generation in his family to have the name John.
The 1830 Census of Barren County, Kentucky, shows John M Fishback, a male between 20 and 30 years of age, living with a female 15-20, presumably his new wife, Elizabeth. They had married shortly before the Census in November 1829, and had their first child in August 1830, after this Census was taken. Listed on the same page are the families of James Button, Charles Settle, cousins of the Fishback couple, and James N. Davis, their future double-in-laws.
John's wife, Elizabeth Margaret Button, was his second cousin, both being descendants of the Johanes Fishback family who immigrated from Stegen, Germany to the Germanna Colony in Fauquier County, Virginia in 1714. The were also second cousins through the Anthony Morgan family, Welsh colonists of Rappahannock, Virginia before 1680. John's parent's were first cousins to each other through this same Anthony Morgan family. John and Elizabeth very likely also had other common ancestors in the Francis Settle Family who immigrated from Yorkshire, England to Totuskey Creek on the Rappahannock River, Richmond County, Virginia, around 1652. Both John's and Elizabeth's mothers had the maiden name of Settle.
Elizabeth married John when she was 18. Elizabeth's father, Elias Button, had died one week after her 12th birthday, so the bond agreement for their marriage was signed by William Settle, which is the name of her mother's brother. A sum of 50 Pounds was paid to the father of the groom to bind the marriage. The bond (see Media) was signed November 12, 1829.
The couple started having children right away, Elizabeth bearing nine children in their first 20 years of marriage.
These children are listed in the Genealogy of The Fishback Family in America (see Media):
Louisa Jane - b. 22 Aug 1830 m. Tom Lewis or Louis, d. 19 Feb 1905
Samuel A. - b. 22 Nov 1832 m. Rebecca Davis d. 30 Jun 1898
John William - b. 1834, m. Susan Ann Clayton 13 Jan 1859, d. 26 Feb 1865 (of illness while serving in the Civil War)
Nancy Elizabeth - b. 1836 m. Smith (named on Father's death certificate)
Aliccia - b. 12 Feb 1838, never married d. 23 Aug 1872
Elias E. - b. 26 Feb 1840 m. 09 Mar 1871 Mary Ann Davis d. 04 May 1901
Theopholus - b. Dec 1842 m. Josephine Dutton d. 1919
Adolphus Penn - b. 13 Jan 1845 m. Martha Robnett d. 27 Nov 1933
Charles Martin - b. 17 May 1848, m. Colistia Dutton d. 16 Dec 1922
The Button and Fishback families had lived in the same mining region in Germany for generations. They had immigrated on the same ship from Germany to London to Virginia, had homesteaded within 15 miles of each other in Virginia, and had moved from there to the same county, 600 miles to the west, in Kentucky. But John Fishback and Elizabeth Button were about to leave all their Kentucky-Virginia family behind and start a new life in the young state of Missouri, with their own large nest of children, and their Kentucky neighbors, the Davis family.
Around 1849 the John Fishback couple left behind their two widowed mothers, both in their 60s, and moved about 450 miles west, probably by wagon, and maybe partly by river, with their nine children spanning the ages of 1-19. Most families leaving Kentucky around this time either went to Missouri or Texas. Essentially the Fishbacks moved from the Confederacy to the Union. Several of their ancestors had fought in the American Revolution - their son would die as a Union soldier in the Civil War.
The 1850 Census shows the Fishback family living together in Peno Township, Pike County, Missouri. Louisa Jane is not living with them, as she was recently married and had her first child in Missouri about 1850. The Census reads: John M. Fishback, 43, a Farmer; wife Elizabeth, 33 [a little vanity? she was 39]; Samuel, 17, Farmer; John W., 15, Farmer; Aileen, 12; Nancy E., 14; Elias E., 10; Theophilus, 8; Adolphus, 6; Charles M., 2. None of the children are attending school. The Davis family from Kentucky lives right next door.
The high hopes of this couple for a good life in Missouri would soon end in tragedy. John, at the age of 44, died just two years after arriving to Missouri, leaving his 40-year old wife with a whole household to support. The family appears in the 1860 Census of Frankford Post Office, Peno, Pike, Missouri, the image of which is extremely hard to read, but the index says that Elizabeth Fishback is 49, Louisa Louis is 30, her son John H Louis is 10, daughter Mary A Louis is 9, son James F Louis is 6. AA [Aliccia] Louis is 22, Theopolas Louis is 17, Adolphius Louis is 15, and Chas M Louis is 12. Presumably, Louisa had been widowed sometime in the last six years, and the two widows are trying to hold together the remaining family with three teenage sons to work as farmers. It may be a confusion of transcription that the younger Fishback children are surnamed Louis. Aliccia Fishback is still living at home at 22, and will never marry.
Ten years later, Elizabeth is found in the June 18, 1870, Census of Monticello, Lewis County, Missouri, where she is listed as head of household, 58-years old, keeping home, $200 in Real Estate, $1000 in personal property. Louisa Lewis (change in spelling from Louis) is 39, at home; Alice Fishback, 32, is at home; Adolphus, 24, is a farmer; Mary A. Lewis, 19, is at home; James Lewis, 17, works on a farm. NONE of them can read or write, but James has attended school in the past year. Now Adolphus and James appear to be supporting the two widows and their two unmarried daughters.
Samuel and Elias grew up to marry the two Davis girls from next door and stayed in Pike County. Theopholus and Charles eventually moved to Yolo County, California, around 1874, and marry sisters. Louisa and Adolphus raised their families to Lewis County, Missouri, and two of Adolphus' daughters - Annie and Sarah - will one day marry brothers. John William moves his family to Hannibal, then St. Louis, Missouri, before his early death.
The move of two Fishback sons to California completed a three-hop, three-generation migration from colonial Virginia, to Kentucky, to Missouri, to central California, 2,000 miles away, five years after the opening of the Transcontinental Railroad. The journey was in a nearly straight line across the expanding nation.
[Elizabeth's middle name was Margaret, and this may be the name that she used later in life, since the Find A Grave memorial bears that name. There is an outstanding request for a photo of her headstone.]
The 1830 Census of Barren County, Kentucky, shows John M Fishback, a male between 20 and 30 years of age, living with a female 15-20, presumably his new wife, Elizabeth. They had married shortly before the Census in November 1829, and had their first child in August 1830, after this Census was taken. Listed on the same page are the families of James Button, Charles Settle, cousins of the Fishback couple, and James N. Davis, their future double-in-laws.
John's wife, Elizabeth Margaret Button, was his second cousin, both being descendants of the Johanes Fishback family who immigrated from Stegen, Germany to the Germanna Colony in Fauquier County, Virginia in 1714. The were also second cousins through the Anthony Morgan family, Welsh colonists of Rappahannock, Virginia before 1680. John's parent's were first cousins to each other through this same Anthony Morgan family. John and Elizabeth very likely also had other common ancestors in the Francis Settle Family who immigrated from Yorkshire, England to Totuskey Creek on the Rappahannock River, Richmond County, Virginia, around 1652. Both John's and Elizabeth's mothers had the maiden name of Settle.
Elizabeth married John when she was 18. Elizabeth's father, Elias Button, had died one week after her 12th birthday, so the bond agreement for their marriage was signed by William Settle, which is the name of her mother's brother. A sum of 50 Pounds was paid to the father of the groom to bind the marriage. The bond (see Media) was signed November 12, 1829.
The couple started having children right away, Elizabeth bearing nine children in their first 20 years of marriage.
These children are listed in the Genealogy of The Fishback Family in America (see Media):
Louisa Jane - b. 22 Aug 1830 m. Tom Lewis or Louis, d. 19 Feb 1905
Samuel A. - b. 22 Nov 1832 m. Rebecca Davis d. 30 Jun 1898
John William - b. 1834, m. Susan Ann Clayton 13 Jan 1859, d. 26 Feb 1865 (of illness while serving in the Civil War)
Nancy Elizabeth - b. 1836 m. Smith (named on Father's death certificate)
Aliccia - b. 12 Feb 1838, never married d. 23 Aug 1872
Elias E. - b. 26 Feb 1840 m. 09 Mar 1871 Mary Ann Davis d. 04 May 1901
Theopholus - b. Dec 1842 m. Josephine Dutton d. 1919
Adolphus Penn - b. 13 Jan 1845 m. Martha Robnett d. 27 Nov 1933
Charles Martin - b. 17 May 1848, m. Colistia Dutton d. 16 Dec 1922
The Button and Fishback families had lived in the same mining region in Germany for generations. They had immigrated on the same ship from Germany to London to Virginia, had homesteaded within 15 miles of each other in Virginia, and had moved from there to the same county, 600 miles to the west, in Kentucky. But John Fishback and Elizabeth Button were about to leave all their Kentucky-Virginia family behind and start a new life in the young state of Missouri, with their own large nest of children, and their Kentucky neighbors, the Davis family.
Around 1849 the John Fishback couple left behind their two widowed mothers, both in their 60s, and moved about 450 miles west, probably by wagon, and maybe partly by river, with their nine children spanning the ages of 1-19. Most families leaving Kentucky around this time either went to Missouri or Texas. Essentially the Fishbacks moved from the Confederacy to the Union. Several of their ancestors had fought in the American Revolution - their son would die as a Union soldier in the Civil War.
The 1850 Census shows the Fishback family living together in Peno Township, Pike County, Missouri. Louisa Jane is not living with them, as she was recently married and had her first child in Missouri about 1850. The Census reads: John M. Fishback, 43, a Farmer; wife Elizabeth, 33 [a little vanity? she was 39]; Samuel, 17, Farmer; John W., 15, Farmer; Aileen, 12; Nancy E., 14; Elias E., 10; Theophilus, 8; Adolphus, 6; Charles M., 2. None of the children are attending school. The Davis family from Kentucky lives right next door.
The high hopes of this couple for a good life in Missouri would soon end in tragedy. John, at the age of 44, died just two years after arriving to Missouri, leaving his 40-year old wife with a whole household to support. The family appears in the 1860 Census of Frankford Post Office, Peno, Pike, Missouri, the image of which is extremely hard to read, but the index says that Elizabeth Fishback is 49, Louisa Louis is 30, her son John H Louis is 10, daughter Mary A Louis is 9, son James F Louis is 6. AA [Aliccia] Louis is 22, Theopolas Louis is 17, Adolphius Louis is 15, and Chas M Louis is 12. Presumably, Louisa had been widowed sometime in the last six years, and the two widows are trying to hold together the remaining family with three teenage sons to work as farmers. It may be a confusion of transcription that the younger Fishback children are surnamed Louis. Aliccia Fishback is still living at home at 22, and will never marry.
Ten years later, Elizabeth is found in the June 18, 1870, Census of Monticello, Lewis County, Missouri, where she is listed as head of household, 58-years old, keeping home, $200 in Real Estate, $1000 in personal property. Louisa Lewis (change in spelling from Louis) is 39, at home; Alice Fishback, 32, is at home; Adolphus, 24, is a farmer; Mary A. Lewis, 19, is at home; James Lewis, 17, works on a farm. NONE of them can read or write, but James has attended school in the past year. Now Adolphus and James appear to be supporting the two widows and their two unmarried daughters.
Samuel and Elias grew up to marry the two Davis girls from next door and stayed in Pike County. Theopholus and Charles eventually moved to Yolo County, California, around 1874, and marry sisters. Louisa and Adolphus raised their families to Lewis County, Missouri, and two of Adolphus' daughters - Annie and Sarah - will one day marry brothers. John William moves his family to Hannibal, then St. Louis, Missouri, before his early death.
The move of two Fishback sons to California completed a three-hop, three-generation migration from colonial Virginia, to Kentucky, to Missouri, to central California, 2,000 miles away, five years after the opening of the Transcontinental Railroad. The journey was in a nearly straight line across the expanding nation.
[Elizabeth's middle name was Margaret, and this may be the name that she used later in life, since the Find A Grave memorial bears that name. There is an outstanding request for a photo of her headstone.]
John M Fishback grew up in a large well-off farming family in Kentucky, the grandson of Virginia farmers. He was the 4th generation in his family to have the name John.
The 1830 Census of Barren County, Kentucky, shows John M Fishback, a male between 20 and 30 years of age, living with a female 15-20, presumably his new wife, Elizabeth. They had married shortly before the Census in November 1829, and had their first child in August 1830, after this Census was taken. Listed on the same page are the families of James Button, Charles Settle, cousins of the Fishback couple, and James N. Davis, their future double-in-laws.
John's wife, Elizabeth Margaret Button, was his second cousin, both being descendants of the Johanes Fishback family who immigrated from Stegen, Germany to the Germanna Colony in Fauquier County, Virginia in 1714. The were also second cousins through the Anthony Morgan family, Welsh colonists of Rappahannock, Virginia before 1680. John's parent's were first cousins to each other through this same Anthony Morgan family. John and Elizabeth very likely also had other common ancestors in the Francis Settle Family who immigrated from Yorkshire, England to Totuskey Creek on the Rappahannock River, Richmond County, Virginia, around 1652. Both John's and Elizabeth's mothers had the maiden name of Settle.
Elizabeth married John when she was 18. Elizabeth's father, Elias Button, had died one week after her 12th birthday, so the bond agreement for their marriage was signed by William Settle, which is the name of her mother's brother. A sum of 50 Pounds was paid to the father of the groom to bind the marriage. The bond (see Media) was signed November 12, 1829.
The couple started having children right away, Elizabeth bearing nine children in their first 20 years of marriage.
These children are listed in the Genealogy of The Fishback Family in America (see Media):
Louisa Jane - b. 22 Aug 1830 m. Tom Lewis or Louis, d. 19 Feb 1905
Samuel A. - b. 22 Nov 1832 m. Rebecca Davis d. 30 Jun 1898
John William - b. 1834, m. Susan Ann Clayton 13 Jan 1859, d. 26 Feb 1865 (of illness while serving in the Civil War)
Nancy Elizabeth - b. 1836 m. Smith (named on Father's death certificate)
Aliccia - b. 12 Feb 1838, never married d. 23 Aug 1872
Elias E. - b. 26 Feb 1840 m. 09 Mar 1871 Mary Ann Davis d. 04 May 1901
Theopholus - b. Dec 1842 m. Josephine Dutton d. 1919
Adolphus Penn - b. 13 Jan 1845 m. Martha Robnett d. 27 Nov 1933
Charles Martin - b. 17 May 1848, m. Colistia Dutton d. 16 Dec 1922
The Button and Fishback families had lived in the same mining region in Germany for generations. They had immigrated on the same ship from Germany to London to Virginia, had homesteaded within 15 miles of each other in Virginia, and had moved from there to the same county, 600 miles to the west, in Kentucky. But John Fishback and Elizabeth Button were about to leave all their Kentucky-Virginia family behind and start a new life in the young state of Missouri, with their own large nest of children, and their Kentucky neighbors, the Davis family.
Around 1849 the John Fishback couple left behind their two widowed mothers, both in their 60s, and moved about 450 miles west, probably by wagon, and maybe partly by river, with their nine children spanning the ages of 1-19. Most families leaving Kentucky around this time either went to Missouri or Texas. Essentially the Fishbacks moved from the Confederacy to the Union. Several of their ancestors had fought in the American Revolution - their son would die as a Union soldier in the Civil War.
The 1850 Census shows the Fishback family living together in Peno Township, Pike County, Missouri. Louisa Jane is not living with them, as she was recently married and had her first child in Missouri about 1850. The Census reads: John M. Fishback, 43, a Farmer; wife Elizabeth, 33 [a little vanity? she was 39]; Samuel, 17, Farmer; John W., 15, Farmer; Aileen, 12; Nancy E., 14; Elias E., 10; Theophilus, 8; Adolphus, 6; Charles M., 2. None of the children are attending school. The Davis family from Kentucky lives right next door.
The high hopes of this couple for a good life in Missouri would soon end in tragedy. John, at the age of 44, died just two years after arriving to Missouri, leaving his 40-year old wife with a whole household to support. The family appears in the 1860 Census of Frankford Post Office, Peno, Pike, Missouri, the image of which is extremely hard to read, but the index says that Elizabeth Fishback is 49, Louisa Louis is 30, her son John H Louis is 10, daughter Mary A Louis is 9, son James F Louis is 6. AA [Aliccia] Louis is 22, Theopolas Louis is 17, Adolphius Louis is 15, and Chas M Louis is 12. Presumably, Louisa had been widowed sometime in the last six years, and the two widows are trying to hold together the remaining family with three teenage sons to work as farmers. It may be a confusion of transcription that the younger Fishback children are surnamed Louis. Aliccia Fishback is still living at home at 22, and will never marry.
Ten years later, Elizabeth is found in the June 18, 1870, Census of Monticello, Lewis County, Missouri, where she is listed as head of household, 58-years old, keeping home, $200 in Real Estate, $1000 in personal property. Louisa Lewis (change in spelling from Louis) is 39, at home; Alice Fishback, 32, is at home; Adolphus, 24, is a farmer; Mary A. Lewis, 19, is at home; James Lewis, 17, works on a farm. NONE of them can read or write, but James has attended school in the past year. Now Adolphus and James appear to be supporting the two widows and their two unmarried daughters.
Samuel and Elias grew up to marry the two Davis girls from next door and stayed in Pike County. Theopholus and Charles eventually moved to Yolo County, California, around 1874, and marry sisters. Louisa and Adolphus raised their families to Lewis County, Missouri, and two of Adolphus' daughters - Annie and Sarah - will one day marry brothers. John William moves his family to Hannibal, then St. Louis, Missouri, before his early death.
The move of two Fishback sons to California completed a three-hop, three-generation migration from colonial Virginia, to Kentucky, to Missouri, to central California, 2,000 miles away, five years after the opening of the Transcontinental Railroad. The journey was in a nearly straight line across the expanding nation.
[Elizabeth's middle name was Margaret, and this may be the name that she used later in life, since the Find A Grave memorial bears that name. There is an outstanding request for a photo of her headstone.]
The 1830 Census of Barren County, Kentucky, shows John M Fishback, a male between 20 and 30 years of age, living with a female 15-20, presumably his new wife, Elizabeth. They had married shortly before the Census in November 1829, and had their first child in August 1830, after this Census was taken. Listed on the same page are the families of James Button, Charles Settle, cousins of the Fishback couple, and James N. Davis, their future double-in-laws.
John's wife, Elizabeth Margaret Button, was his second cousin, both being descendants of the Johanes Fishback family who immigrated from Stegen, Germany to the Germanna Colony in Fauquier County, Virginia in 1714. The were also second cousins through the Anthony Morgan family, Welsh colonists of Rappahannock, Virginia before 1680. John's parent's were first cousins to each other through this same Anthony Morgan family. John and Elizabeth very likely also had other common ancestors in the Francis Settle Family who immigrated from Yorkshire, England to Totuskey Creek on the Rappahannock River, Richmond County, Virginia, around 1652. Both John's and Elizabeth's mothers had the maiden name of Settle.
Elizabeth married John when she was 18. Elizabeth's father, Elias Button, had died one week after her 12th birthday, so the bond agreement for their marriage was signed by William Settle, which is the name of her mother's brother. A sum of 50 Pounds was paid to the father of the groom to bind the marriage. The bond (see Media) was signed November 12, 1829.
The couple started having children right away, Elizabeth bearing nine children in their first 20 years of marriage.
These children are listed in the Genealogy of The Fishback Family in America (see Media):
Louisa Jane - b. 22 Aug 1830 m. Tom Lewis or Louis, d. 19 Feb 1905
Samuel A. - b. 22 Nov 1832 m. Rebecca Davis d. 30 Jun 1898
John William - b. 1834, m. Susan Ann Clayton 13 Jan 1859, d. 26 Feb 1865 (of illness while serving in the Civil War)
Nancy Elizabeth - b. 1836 m. Smith (named on Father's death certificate)
Aliccia - b. 12 Feb 1838, never married d. 23 Aug 1872
Elias E. - b. 26 Feb 1840 m. 09 Mar 1871 Mary Ann Davis d. 04 May 1901
Theopholus - b. Dec 1842 m. Josephine Dutton d. 1919
Adolphus Penn - b. 13 Jan 1845 m. Martha Robnett d. 27 Nov 1933
Charles Martin - b. 17 May 1848, m. Colistia Dutton d. 16 Dec 1922
The Button and Fishback families had lived in the same mining region in Germany for generations. They had immigrated on the same ship from Germany to London to Virginia, had homesteaded within 15 miles of each other in Virginia, and had moved from there to the same county, 600 miles to the west, in Kentucky. But John Fishback and Elizabeth Button were about to leave all their Kentucky-Virginia family behind and start a new life in the young state of Missouri, with their own large nest of children, and their Kentucky neighbors, the Davis family.
Around 1849 the John Fishback couple left behind their two widowed mothers, both in their 60s, and moved about 450 miles west, probably by wagon, and maybe partly by river, with their nine children spanning the ages of 1-19. Most families leaving Kentucky around this time either went to Missouri or Texas. Essentially the Fishbacks moved from the Confederacy to the Union. Several of their ancestors had fought in the American Revolution - their son would die as a Union soldier in the Civil War.
The 1850 Census shows the Fishback family living together in Peno Township, Pike County, Missouri. Louisa Jane is not living with them, as she was recently married and had her first child in Missouri about 1850. The Census reads: John M. Fishback, 43, a Farmer; wife Elizabeth, 33 [a little vanity? she was 39]; Samuel, 17, Farmer; John W., 15, Farmer; Aileen, 12; Nancy E., 14; Elias E., 10; Theophilus, 8; Adolphus, 6; Charles M., 2. None of the children are attending school. The Davis family from Kentucky lives right next door.
The high hopes of this couple for a good life in Missouri would soon end in tragedy. John, at the age of 44, died just two years after arriving to Missouri, leaving his 40-year old wife with a whole household to support. The family appears in the 1860 Census of Frankford Post Office, Peno, Pike, Missouri, the image of which is extremely hard to read, but the index says that Elizabeth Fishback is 49, Louisa Louis is 30, her son John H Louis is 10, daughter Mary A Louis is 9, son James F Louis is 6. AA [Aliccia] Louis is 22, Theopolas Louis is 17, Adolphius Louis is 15, and Chas M Louis is 12. Presumably, Louisa had been widowed sometime in the last six years, and the two widows are trying to hold together the remaining family with three teenage sons to work as farmers. It may be a confusion of transcription that the younger Fishback children are surnamed Louis. Aliccia Fishback is still living at home at 22, and will never marry.
Ten years later, Elizabeth is found in the June 18, 1870, Census of Monticello, Lewis County, Missouri, where she is listed as head of household, 58-years old, keeping home, $200 in Real Estate, $1000 in personal property. Louisa Lewis (change in spelling from Louis) is 39, at home; Alice Fishback, 32, is at home; Adolphus, 24, is a farmer; Mary A. Lewis, 19, is at home; James Lewis, 17, works on a farm. NONE of them can read or write, but James has attended school in the past year. Now Adolphus and James appear to be supporting the two widows and their two unmarried daughters.
Samuel and Elias grew up to marry the two Davis girls from next door and stayed in Pike County. Theopholus and Charles eventually moved to Yolo County, California, around 1874, and marry sisters. Louisa and Adolphus raised their families to Lewis County, Missouri, and two of Adolphus' daughters - Annie and Sarah - will one day marry brothers. John William moves his family to Hannibal, then St. Louis, Missouri, before his early death.
The move of two Fishback sons to California completed a three-hop, three-generation migration from colonial Virginia, to Kentucky, to Missouri, to central California, 2,000 miles away, five years after the opening of the Transcontinental Railroad. The journey was in a nearly straight line across the expanding nation.
[Elizabeth's middle name was Margaret, and this may be the name that she used later in life, since the Find A Grave memorial bears that name. There is an outstanding request for a photo of her headstone.]
