Mightier Acorns

When we last discussed the Callin families who settled on a farm near Olivesburg in what was then Milton Township, Richland County, Ohio, we took a look at who was displaced before white settlers, like the Callins, could move in. Brothers James and John Callin, the sons of our theoretical Revolutionary War soldier, James Callin, arrived on that farm in 1810 (James and his wife and children) and 1816 (John and his wife and children). Between them, James and John raised 15 children on that farm, many of whom would marry and move to states further to the West.

Last year, we spent time talking about those families who left, the “Milton Township Diaspora” – this year, I want to spend some time with those who stayed. But even making that simple statement – that they “stayed” near Milton Township – is not as straightforward as it sounds. County and Township boundaries shifted as the population of Ohio grew, and the names of some places either changed or were never formally incorporated. Sometimes people moved from one place to another; other times, the names changed around them. And all of that makes it hard to find records to piece together the story of the families who lived in the area.

Thomas and Nancy (Burget) Callin

Thomas was the son of James and Mary Callin. He was born in Pennsylvania about 1801, and would have been about 9 years old when the family relocated to Milton Township. Assuming the six children counted in James and Mary’s household in 1820¹ were all their children, Thomas is the only one who did not leave Milton Township after he married.

All I know for certain about Nancy Burget is that The Callin Family History tells us that Thomas was “Married to Nancy Burget 1822” and that a record found in “Ohio, County Marriages, 1774-1993” (Film Number 000388735) confirms their marriage in Richland County on 20 Nov 1823. I have a couple of theories about who her family was.

In 1820, just a few lines below James Callin’s household, Thomas Burget and Boston Burget are also listed. Each of them have a female counted in their household the right age to be Nancy (Females – 16 thru 25). These two men might be descendants of Sebastian Burgett, who emigrated from Germany and settled near Robbstown, Westmoreland County, PA, around 1773. According to the account of the founding of Burgettstown, Smith Township, Washington County, PA² (selectively edited for length):

“The land on which Burgettstown is situated was located by Sebastian Burgett, a native of Germany, who emigrated to this country with his wife and three children… two sons, George and Philip, and a daughter Agnes. He removed to near Robbstown (West Newton), Westmoreland Co., before 1773… He came to this part of the country [referring to Smith Township] and located upon a large tract of land, which later was secured to his heirs. His name is mentioned as early as 1780 in connection with the Virginia certificate of George McCormick, Henry Rankin, and others whose lands he joined….

“On the 28th of September, 1789, George Burgett, in behalf of himself, Philip, his brother, and Agnes, his sister, entered into an article of agreement with Roxanna, the second wife of Boston Burgett, for herself and her children [listed by name]…

“About this time [June 1810] Mr. [George] Burgett removed to Jefferson County, Ohio, and later to Richland County of the sameState. [sic]”

The account doesn’t name the children of George or Philip, but there are several tantalizing details in this account that I will need to follow up on. Not only do I want to figure out whether/how Nancy Burget was related to this family, but the discussion of a “Virginia certificate” for the land in Westmoreland County, PA, could lead me to the land records that could tell me where the Callin family came from!

Also take note that “Sebastian Burgett” is also referred to in that sketch as “Boston Burgett” (where it mentions “Roxana, the second wife of Boston Burgett). One of the children of Sebastian/Boston and Roxana that I did not include in that quote was named “Boston,” and he is said later to have “studied medicine with Dr. S. J. Perry, of Burgettstown; removed from the township.” (I haven’t been able to determine if he is the Boston Burgett in the Census above.)

The Children of Thomas and Nancy Callin

Between their marriage in 1823 and Thomas’s death in 1841, the couple had ten children. I suspect Thomas may have died of tuberculosis, but we don’t really know. If he was sick, that may explain why he didn’t leave Ohio when his siblings did. Or, since we don’t know when his brothers left for Iowa with his mother, Thomas’s death may have come slightly before the rest moved away, and Nancy might not have wanted to leave behind the only home she knew with her surviving children.

Whatever the situation, Nancy had three sons in their late teenage years to help her run their Milton Township farm and to care for the other children. I don’t believe this is the same farm that James Callin settled, because the Callin Family History says that Aunt Mary sold that farm when she left for Iowa.

Of their ten children, only two are known to have survived childhood and had children of their own. Three of their sons who did survive childhood never married:

James Callin (1823-1879) – little is known about James, who was listed under the name “Jane” in The Callin Family History. He appears in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 Census counts in his mother’s household, working as a farmer. He died at age 56.

George Callin (1825-1865) – was a farmer, listed in the Boyd household in Vermillion Township, Ashland County, in 1860. His 1863 draft registration described him as unmarried, living in Richland County. The Callin Family History gives us this brief bio: “George, born 1825, died 1865; shot by a rebel sharpshooter while on pickete duty in North Carolina.” But according to Civil War Soldier records, he seems to have enlisted in the 178th Ohio Infantry and died in New York of an unnamed disease. That unit did see action in the Carolinas during the spring of 1865, and were at Raleigh and Charlotte until they mustered out in June, so it’s possible George was shot, then transported to a hospital up north, where he contracted an infection. He was 40 years old when he died.

Elliott Callin (1841-1865) – was a farmhand living with his mother and brother James in Weller Township. He enlisted in the 26th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, on 8 Jun 1861. He died at age 24 in the hospital at Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, on 16 Nov 1865, after being discharged at the rank of Corporal on 16 October. His unit served extensively in West Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama, New Orleans, and finally San Antonio and Victoria, Texas, where they mustered out on 21 October.

Several of their daughters survived infancy, but still died young. None of these six children survived to adulthood. They are buried together in the Old Olivesburg Cemetery:

• Caroline (1829-1847) – died at age 18
• Sally (1830-1834) – died at age 3
• Mary Ann (1836-1854) – died age 18
• Able (1838-1839) – died in his first year
• Emoline (1840-1851) – died at age 10

Surviving Sons

Two sons survived and had families of their own: Thomas Jefferson and Marquis Callin. We talked about Marquis’s family in “How the Headlines Got It Wrong” last January, and I have not been able to add any new information to that story.

Thomas Jefferson “Jeff” Callin (1827-1902) married Susannah Egner in 1848, and made his living as a shoemaker. Jeff’s brother, Marquis, lived with him and probably also apprenticed as a shoemaker for a time.

Jeff and Susan had two daughters in 1850 and 1851, Alice and Mary, who both died young; but the their six other children survived to adulthood. Their oldest son was Martin, whose story appeared in “A Tragic Wealth.” That story also links to stories about their other sons, Fred, George, and Delbert. You can read about Clara (Callin) Mohn on the old Mightier Acorns blog, and I covered all of them, including their youngest daughter Minnie (Callin) Urich, in a 2015 post, “The Sons of the Shoemaker,” over there.

There Are More Than Just Sons…

The six surviving children of Jeff and Susan each had several children, but among those grandchildren, only one had a son to carry on the Callin name; the rest either had daughters or no children at all. William Jefferson Callin (1885-1949) had a son, Joseph, in 1909, but his wife, Mary Elizabeth Zeiters (1890-1970) divorced him in 1911 when she was pregnant with their second child, a daughter named Virginia.

Elizabeth remarried, and her second husband, Carl Don Lindsey, adopted Joseph and Virginia, and raised them as his own – as Joseph and Virginia Lindsey. Joseph died in 1983, but he and his wife did not have any children, and so the paternal line of descent from Thomas Callin is no more.

Which means there are a lot of descendants of Thomas Callin who probably have no idea they are descended from Thomas Callin! I lost count before I reached 100 surviving descendants, and they are all living, so I don’t want to share any identifiable information, but here is an incomplete list of the surnames of living descendants:

Knepper, Donnell, Davis, Kirkendall, Barnd, Kissel, Cutright, Motter, Washburn, Slone, Backensto, Green, Neeley, Baker, Jones, Roberts, Steele, Kessler, Lashley, Bowman, Trauger, Vanderpool, Dorion, Gullett, Harrer, Shealy, Mohn, Kratzer, Preston, Keller, Williams, Oberlin, Hess, Ports, Zimmerman, Souter, Montgomery, Tucker, Wirick, Koser, Swank, Rihel, Meininger, Clark, Teeter, Ament, Wallenius, Tschorn, Liles, Reed, Faulkner, Burkett, Mahon, and Hart…

I only wish I had the time to track them all down and say hello!

1. There is a weird quirk in the 1820 Census where they have two overlapping categories: “Males 16 to 18” and “Males 16 to 25.” Hugh, born about 1803, is counted in both categories; Thomas, at 19, is only counted in the second. ↩︎
2. History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men by Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N. ↩︎