According to his death certificate, John was the son of Israel Test & Amanda Frazee. This is apparently not altogether correct. Continue reading.

There is a letter in the Civil War widow's pension file for Josephus Test from John Frazee Test's daughter Ethel Test Kennedy. Josephus Test died during the Civil War in the Sultana explosion. Ethel states that her father was the son of Josephus and Josephus' 1st wife. She was hoping the pension records would give the names of Josephus' parents (they didn't).

Marriage records show that Josephus Test's 1st marriage was to Amanda Frazee in 1844 and his 2nd to Sarah Landon in 1858. According to his gravestone, John Frazee Test was born in 1852 and his death certificate shows 15 Oct 1852. Census records are inconsistent, suggesting a range from 1850-1854.

The pension records show that Josephus and his unnamed 1st wife had 4 children: Mary E., born 16 Jul 1846, Sarah A., born 14 Feb 1848, and John S., born 15 Nov 1850, and Amanda, born 18 Jan 1852.

Does John S., born 15 Nov 1850 = John Frazee, born 15 Oct 1852? Are the dates in the pension record incorrect? Or is John's death certificate incorrect?

A genealogy titled "Rogers-Ward-Shipman and Allied Families" shows that Amanda Frazee married Josephus Test (who it states died in the Sultana explosion) and that their children were: (1) Mary, (2) Sarah, (3) John Frazee, and (4) Amanda. John's full date of 15 Oct 1852 is given. It shows years only for Mary (1847), Sarah (1849), Amanda (1854). We don't know the source of those years; they could be estimates based on census.

Ethel Test Kennedy presumably was correct when she stated her grandfather was Josephus Test. And certainly the information in the genealogy seems credible. So where did the idea that John's father was Israel Test come from? There is an Israel Test and he lived in the same localities as Josephus Test. Israel married Amanda Moyer in 1854 (one of their children was a son named John Wilber test, who is not John Frazee Test).

Could it be that after Josephus' death John Frazee Test lived with Israel Test and somehow someone thought he was John's father. Or if Israel was Josephus' brother, perhaps he was John's guardian. There are many unanswered questions.

But presumably, John Frazee Test was the son of Josephus Test & Amanda Frazee.

John Frazee Test married Martha Ellen Sprinkle on 2 Jun 1875 in Rose (Stout), Adams Co., OH. Information about their children is included in Martha's memorial.

Both John & Martha are buried in her brother Samuel Marion Sprinkle's plot. Their information is inscribed on one side of his monument.