Mrs. Hyde writes:
James McConnel and Fanny Stephens were married August 28, 1813, in Guernsey County, Ohio.
On September 4, 1813 James McConnel bought 21 and 1/3 acres in Wills Township, Guernsey County (T2, R1, Section 22, s.e. corner of the s.e. 1/4). He sold or lost this land in Dec. 1819.
According to the 1820 census, James McConnel was living in Richland Township at that time. It may have been in a part of the township which later became a part of Seneca Township. The change in township boundaries included the land which James bought in 1825.
On April 8, 1825, James McConnel made the original entry for land in Seneca Township (T8, R8, Section 19, West 1/2 of s.e. 1/4, 88 acres). On March 26, 1832 he bought 20 acres adjacent to this (T8, R8, Section 19, west side of half s.e. 1/4). He owned these 108 acres at the time of his death. (Since Mrs. Hyde knew what property he owned at the time of his death, she probably saw probate documents.)
A check of General Land Office records shows that the patent was actually issued August 6, 1825, as a "sale-cash entry." According to documents posted on Rootsweb World Connect (data base: workfile) John Stevens, James' father-in-law, owned the adjacent 80 acres (the E 1/2 of the SW 1/4 the same section). He transferred his interest to his son James, subject to James paying each of his siblings (Phebe Fogle, Fanny McConnel, Sarah Rucker, Elizabeth Shuman, Lucretia Jackson and Rachel Rucker) the sum of $30. John's interest seems to have been a "squatter's interest" since the actual patent was issued to James July of 1832.
According to "History of Noble County", 1887:
A Methodist class was formed as early as 1820 and met in private houses and school-houses until 1844, when a brick meeting-house was erected in the eastern part of the (Buffalo) township . . . Abraham Rich was the first class-leader. . . A number of the early members joined the Mount Ephraim church when it was organized. A great revival in 1832 added largely to the membership of all the Methodist churches in this section of the State. Among the early members of the Buffalo church were . . . James McConnell, Pollard Stevens, James Stevens. . .
The eastern boundary of Buffalo Township was a half a mile from James's homestead. In this era of inexact spelling, James Stevens was probably Fanny Stephens McConnel's brother.
"History of Noble County" also says:
The Methodist Episcopal class at Mount Ephraim, was organized prior to 1830, and first met in school-houses and cabins. Among the early members were Joseph Graham, class-leader;. . . Irvin Kennedy (local preacher). . .
Whether James and his family later joined this group is unknown. What is known is that in March of 1836 James' son William married Nancy Graham, daughter of neighbor Joseph Graham and granddaughter of neighbor Samuel Glover.
Mt. Ephraim was about three miles southeast of James' homestead, as-the-crow-flys. Also according to "History of Noble County", Mt. Ephraim was the only village in Seneca Township and it was platted in 1838. It was on the earliest travel route through the township, the McConnelsville and Barnesville Road. (Barnesville is in Belmont County, to the northeast and McConnelsville is in Morgan County, to the southwest.) The weekly mail was carried between these two villages and Barnesville was the nearest trading point in the early years. The first post office in Seneca township was Batesville established in February of 1827 at Bates mill and distillery, about six miles east of James' homestead.
Presumably when James and Fanny died in 1845 they were members of the Coen Methodist Episcopal Church, since they were buried in the adjacent cemetery. That church was about two and a-half miles northeast, as-the-crow-flys. Fanny died in March of that year at the age of 53 and James died four months later, also at the age of 53. Of the five children still at home, four were minors. By the time of the 1850 census, their children, except William, had moved to Bethel Township, Monroe County, to the east, and the younger children were living with their brother John and his wife Sarah. William, Nancy and their family had moved to Iowa with her father, Joseph Graham.
"The History of Noble County", published in 1887, by L. H. Watkins & Co., Chicago, is available on-line at books.google.com. It is an interesting browse, containing not only the above quoted passages, but also insights into events which would have impacted our ancestors, such as:
In 1811 the commissioners of Guernsey County voted to allow to for every scalp of a wolf over six months old. Many of the pioneers derived considerable money, from the killing of wolves.
Information on the Glover family, Nancy Graham McConnel's mother's ancestors, came largely from Garry McLaughlin's now defunct web site (http://www.gbso.net/actor/actor.htm) which included headstone photographs for Samuel and Margaret Glover, Nancy's grandparents. These are in the Mt. Ephraim cemetery.
See -
Joseph Graham (1797-1877) and Mary Glover Graham (1795-1845) fgs
Samuel Glover (1764-1850) and Margaret Glover (1773-1851) fgs
Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. - Thomas Jefferson
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