Owen Ervin (b-1814) OH

Could Owen Ervin be a son of Samuel Ervin?

Owen Ervin was born July 4, 1814. On October 7, 1832 he married Deborah ANDERSON, daughter of Griffith ANDERSON and Lydia HOPKINS Anderson. Their family first appears in the 1840 Jackson County, Clinton Twp., Ohio census:
Males

0-4 (1836-1840) - 1 [Vinton?]
5-9 (1831-1835) - 1 [Milton?]
10-14 (1826-1830) - 0
15-19 (1821-1825) - 0
20-29 (1811-1820) - 1 [Owen]

Females

0-4 (1836-1840) - 2
5-9 (1831-1835) - 0
10-14 (1826-1830) - 0
15-19 (1821-1825) - 1
20-29 (1811-1820) - 1 [Deborah]

Sadly, Deborah dies young, we think sometime between 1847 and 1848 and leaves Owen to raise his young family. In the 1850 Vinton County, Clinton Twp. census, we see that Owen has taken Milton and Vinton, the oldest of his boys, to live with a Patrick Murdock and his wife Mary. The youngest children born after 1840, Sarah A., then 8, and Henry, age 6, were sent to live with their uncle, Deborah's brother and his wife, Joel H. and Christian ANDERSON, also in Vinton County.

1850 Vinton County, Clinton Twp.

Patrick Murdock, 45, (b-1805), M, Farmer, MD
Mary, 44, (b-1806), F, OH
John, 22, (b-1828), M, Farmer, OH
Martha A., 19, (b-1831), F, OH
Patrick, 6, (b-1844), M, OH
Milton Ervin, 17, (b-1833), M, Laborer, OH
Elizabeth Siance, 18, (b-1832), F, OH
Owen Ervin, 34, (b-1816), M, Laborer, OH
Vinton Ervin, 13, (b-1837), M, OH

1850 Vinton County, Vinton Twp.

Joel H. Anderson, 23, (b-1827), M, Farmer, OH
Christian, 17, (b-1833), F, OH
Griffith, 83, (b-1767), M, None, VA
Lydia, 65, (b-1785), F, VA
Sarah A. Ervin, 8, (b-1842), F, OH
Henry, 6, (b-1844), M, OH

Note (1) - The Elizabeth "Siance" we see in the household is really a "SIENS" and goes on to marry Milton Ervin on April 6, 1854.
Note (2) - Why Patrick Murdock? Early in the 1820 and 1830 Jackson County census and 1830 Hocking county census, we find Murdock families living very close to Samuel Ervin and Owen Ervin. It is believed that Patrick and William Murdock migrated with their father, and Samuel Ervin from MD to Ohio. Owen, Patrick and William grew up together during this tiime and probably formed very close relationships.
Note (3) - Notice that the two girls from the 1840 census that should be between 10 and 14 years old by 1850 are not found.
Note (4) - Lydia Ervin, strongly believed to be Owen's first daughter, marries a Joseph JENKINS on September 14, 1854 in Vinton County and after his death in 1866 marries a Benjamin KISOR on August 30, 1868 in Jackson County.

The next time we see Owen is in the 1860 Vinton County, Elk Twp. census. By now he has remarried a woman by the name of Louisa and has started a new family. Louisa was born about 1821 but her maiden name is somewhat unclear. A marriage record has her name as SCOTT, but there are others who say her maiden name was Thorp or Thorpe and that she married a Scott and left her widowed. Also, remember, it is in this census that we find Samuel living with Owen and that we find Samuel claiming he was born in PA rather than MD.

1860 Vinton County, Elk Twp., Ohio

Owen Ervin, 45, (b-1815), M, Farmer, OH
Loiza A, 39, (b-1821), F, OH
Martha E., 9, (b-1851), F, OH
George W., 6, (b-1854), M, OH
Mary M., 3, (b-1857), F, OH
Lucinda J. Ervin, 4/12, (b-1860), F, OH
Henry, 18, (b-1842), M, Day Laborer, OH
Samuel, 89, (b-1771), M, PA

Note (5) - Owen Ervin m. Louisa A. Scott on April 12, 1851 in Vinton County. Source: Familysource.org, extracted record from Vinton County.
Note (6) - Notice Henry, now 18, has reunited with his father and appears to be living in Owen's household again.
Note (7) - Also notice the absence of Sarah. She can be found in nearby Harrison Twp with her new husband Thomas R. SIENS in the household of Thomas's parents, John and Elizabeth SIENS. Thomas and his sister Elizabeth Siance/SIENS (mentioned above in Note1), were born in Guernsey County, Ohio.
Note 8 - Thomas SIENS married Sarah Ervin on February 19, 1860 in Vinton County. Source: Familysearch.org, extracted marriage record from Vinton County.
Note (9) - This is the first indication of who Owen's father may be.

On to 1870. Owen is still in Vinton County, Clinton Twp. and has a new child.

1870 Vinton County, Clinton Twp., Ohio

Owen Ervin, 56, (b-1814), M, Farm Laborer, OH
Louisa, 50, (b-1820), F, Keeping House, OH
George, 16, (b-1854), M, Works on Farm, OH
Mary, 13, (b-1857), F, Helps Mother, OH
Lucinda, 9, (b-1861), F, At Home, OH
Harriet, 7, (b-1863), F, At Home, OH

In 1880, we find Owen and Louisa here:

1880 Vinton County, Vinton Twp.

Oen Ervin, 65, (b-1815), M, Farmer, OH, KY, KY
Louisa A, 59, (b-1821), F, Wife, Keeping House, OH, Ireland, KY
Hariott, 14, (b-1866), F, Daughter, Housework, OH, OH, OH
J.S. Wormsley, 10, (b-1870), M, G. Son, OH, Eng, OH
David Pierce, 10, (b-1870), M, Boarder, OH, OH, OH

By this time, we find all of Owen's children out of the house except for Harriet. But we also see A J.S. Wormsley listed as a Grandson to Owen. Since he is 10 years of age, we can eliminiate Hariott as being the mother, so we're left with the question of where he came from. One thought is that J.S. is really a Grandson of Louisa's from a previous marriage. But, in the 1900 Jackson county, Milton Towp. census, Louisa is found living with her daughter Lucinda and she states that she has had 5 children with 5 of them living. This goes against the above theory, so any answers to this mystery would be greatly appreciated!

The rest of Owen's children have moved on: Martha E. married Lorenzo LEACH, Mar. 19, 1874 in Vinton County and we find them in nearby Fayette County, Union Twp., Ohio. George Washington Ervin married Nancy R. CLARK Feb 28, 1874 in Vinton Co. and they can be found in Vinton County, Clinton Twp. Living next door is George's sister Mary M. Ervin who married David SOWARDS on Nov. 28, 1876 in Vinton County. Lucinda Jane Ervin married a Thomas J. SMITH in Vinton County on August 7, 1879. They spend their life living in Jackson County.

Note (10) - There is also a John SMITH and Lucinda Ervin with an Almira Ervin living together in Vinton County, Vinton Twp. during the same time period, but she and her sister Almira are from an Ervin/Erwin family from Gallia County.

Since we don't have an 1890 census, I will tell you about some events that occurred between 1880 and 1900. Harriot Elizabeth Ervin, Owen's youngest daughter went on to marry Philip WARNER. They married on Aug.19, 1882 in Vinton County and by 1900, you can find the couple in Perry County, Salt Lick Twp., Ohio. On November 13, 1898, Owen Ervin died. He is buried at the Salem Church Cemetery in Jackson County. A picture of his tombstone can be seen in our Family Tree area of the site. Louisa, as mentioned earlier, lived with her daughter Lucinda and Thomas Smith during the 1900 census and died October 20, 1901. She is also buried at Salem and her headstone is in the Family Tree area as well.

So back to the original question - Is Owen a son of Samuel Ervin? Samuel's presence in Owen's household in the 1860 census is quite convincing, but Owen's statement that his father and mother were both born in KY raises more questions indeed! Could the census be wrong - absolutely! Could it also be possible that Owen is really a son of Thomas Ervin and Sarah Thatcher? If we look at Thomas's age, it is a possibility.
Thomas Ervin and Sarah were both born in KY sometime between 1795-1804 and according to the 1820 Jackson county census, there are two children born bet 1811-1820 which would be consistent with Owen's date of birth. Owen was born in 1814, so Thomas and Sarah would have been about 19 years of age if they were on the older side of that scale. Although it doesn't match up if with Thomas and Sarah's marriage date in 1818.

My next post will look at George Ervin.

Sources: Ancestry.com Census records, Joint research notes by Sharon Siens Peery. (My suggestions are not necessarily shared by Sharon.), and Family Documents obtained from Vinton Ervin's grandchildren.

Amy Ervin-Smithson
Descendant of Owen Ervin, through his son Vinton Ervin.