Work, Larimer, and Short Family Reunions, 1900-1920

On and off for two decades, my husband's Larimer ancestors gathered with their Work and Short cousins/in-laws/friends for reunions in and around Elkhart, Indiana. Cynthia H. Larimer (1814-1882) married Abel Everett Work (1815-1898) in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1836, and her niece Margaret Larimer (1825-1877) married Thomas Short (1820-1885) in Elkhart County, Indiana in 1842. Each of the news items reporting on these reunions added a few clues to help me identify children, grandchildren, and in-laws as I researched relationships, full names, and dates for this part of the family tree.

The three families of Work, Larimer, and Short "are bound by ties of blood and early friendships," as reported in the reunion coverage by the Elkhart Daily Review of June 26, 1901. This news item listed some of the 110 reunion attendees, including the "dean of the party," my hubby's 2d great-grandpa, Brice Larimer (1819-1906), the oldest participant. At this time, the three families had an actual organization, with elected officers who planned the reunions in advance.

Some creative math is used to count the number of annual reunions held. The 1901 news item said the Work, Larimer, and Short families were holding their second annual reunion. When the same newspaper covered the three-family reunion in 1903, it was called the fifth annual reunion. 😉

A scaled-down reunion was held in 1904, according to this same newspaper, with only Work relatives in attendance instead of all three families being represented. In 1906, the Elkhart Weekly Review reported that up to 50 attendees were expected at a three-family reunion in August. 

Finally, the Elkhart Truth of May 20, 1920 described a Work-Larimer reunion held by "descendants of Abel Everett Work and Isaac Larimer." The Work, Larimer, and Short branches of the family tree were all represented. Maybe that was the last reunion, because I haven't found further news coverage. I'm grateful for any news coverage at all, adding to the clues as I check every name, age, family connection, and location.

To commemorate these intertwined families, including surnames of earlier and later generations, I created the colorful word cloud at top. Here's the free site I used.

"Reunion" is this week's genealogy prompt for #52Ancestors, from Amy Johnson Crow. 

Turning the FAN Club into the FANI or FANIL or KFAN Club

Over the 25 years of my genealogy journey, I've learned to investigate friends, associates, and neighbors (FAN Club) of ancestors to try to understand any relationships, familial and otherwise. More than once, I discovered that a "family friend" or neighbor was actually a relative.

What about rechristening the FAN Club as the FANI Club, to explicitly include in-laws? OR call it FANIL Club (for in-law, maybe FANI is not the best acronym). OR KFAN (for Kinfolk)!

Many of my hubby's Larimer ancestors settled in Indiana in the 1800s. A good number intermarried with men and women from the McKibbin family, the Short family, and the Work family. Investigating the in-law situation helped me untangle the cousin connection and recognize naming and marriage patterns in multiple generations.

As a result, I've come to suspect that these families were related in some way across the pond, well before they left for America. Some of the obits hint at that, and some of the old newspaper coverage of family reunions a century ago make that claim. No proof yet, but intriguing to investigate by scrutinizing in-laws.

Currently I'm looking at a family genealogy book (digitized and available for browsing or download via FamilySearch) called: "A family history of Murrays, McKibbins, Smiths, Planks, Neffs, and related families of Elkhart and LaGrange Counties in Indiana." As shown in the excerpted index, these families intermarried with Larimer folks, including some of my hubby's Larimers. 

The detailed index is a huge help, so I can focus on one Larimer at a time. I've already found a couple of fresh leads to follow and confirm through additional research. 

My takeaways: (1) do look at in-laws in the family tree, because some may actually be cousins or descendants of confirmed cousins; and (2) do check for digitized genealogy books in the Family Search collection.

Check Those County History Books!

My husband's Larimer ancestors intermarried with members of the Work, Short, and McKibbin families after they all came to America in the 1700s.

At first, the immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, and later they and their descendants moved westward in search of fresh farmland in Ohio, Indiana, and beyond.

I've been checking county history books for biographies of ancestors (or their relatives), and as historical and social context for life and times. Some books are digitized and available through Family Search, some through subscription-based genealogy sites, some through Internet Archive, some through Google Books, etc.

Above, the cover of "pictorial and biographical memoirs" covering two counties in Indiana. At right, the subtitle of this 1890s publication. 

Note that it focuses on "prominent men . . . both living and dead." Including my husband's Larimer and Work ancestors! Wives and children were frequently included in the bios.

I found this digitized copy on Ancestry and Google Books, but it may be available on other sites as well. It described Abel Work and as far back as his grandfather Samuel's background. Samuel Work's place of birth was listed as County Antrim, Ireland, and the book says he wed his wife in Ireland before all came to America, where their six children were born. Names, occupations, and more details!

Interestingly, the name of Sam's wife in the county history is different from the name of Sam's wife shown in the Work family history written by a descendant (digitally available on Family Search). 

More research is needed to follow up on this clue, but it's certainly possible this ancestor had two wives or that one of the histories had an error. I wouldn't have even known to investigate this possibility if I didn't research in the county history books as well as the published family history.

If you're researching US ancestors, be sure to check the lengthy list of digitized, freely available county histories for all 50 states, compiled (as a labor of love) by genealogy blogger extraordinaire Linda Stufflebean.

Five Men Named Brice in 265 Years

The given name Brice is distinctive in my husband's family tree, appearing only five times in the 265 years his family has been in America.

At left, a search I conducted on my Ancestry tree to identify the five men named Brice.

Adding them to my online trees and posting more detailed bios on Family Search, Find a Grave, and other websites keeps their memories alive. 

This is all part of my plan to disseminate family history now, before I join my ancestors and my research and artifacts are bequeathed to the next generation.

Brice Smith - Brice #1 in America

Brice #1 is shown at bottom of the search results. That's Brice Smith (1756-1828), my husband's 4th great-grandfather. 

This first Brice in America was born in Cumberland County, PA, a son of Irish immigrants. As an adult, Brice caught "Ohio Fever" and moved west to Fairfield County, Ohio with his wife, Eleanor Kenny (1762-1841). Their daughter Rachel Smith (1799-1838) grew up and married John Larimer (1794-1843) - and this couple named their oldest son Brice S. Larimer, in memory of the first Brice. 

Brice S. Larimer (1819-1906) - Railroad Agent

Born in Rush Creek, Fairfield County, OH, Brice was brought to Elkhart County, Indiana in 1835 by his pioneering parents. There, he met and married New York-born Lucy E. Bentley (1826-1900). Brice and Lucy raised a family of four children while Brice was first a farmer, then a postmaster. Later, he served as the area's first railroad agent during the heyday of rail travel through Elkhart. This Brice was a grandson of Brice #1.

Margaret Jane Larimer (1859-1913) was the youngest daughter of Brice and Lucy. At the age of 17, with her parents' consent, she married William Madison McClure (1849-1887) who--like his father--worked for the railway in Indiana. 

Their oldest son was Brice Larimer McClure. Months before his birth, however, another Brice was born into the family. Brice #3 and Brice #4 were both great-great-grandsons of the original Brice in America, both grandsons of the second Brice in America.

Milton Brice Larimer (1878-1968) - Electrical Entrepreneur

Milton Brice Larimer's parents were William Tyler Bentley Larimer (1850-1921, a son of Brice S. Larimer) and Elizabeth Stauffer (1852-1936). Born in Elkhart County, Indiana, on January 16, 1878, Milton Brice was the third Brice in the family.  

He began his career as an electrician. At the age of 27, he married Elizabeth Luzetta Wright (1877-1968) in 1905. Within a few years, they moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Milton Brice was president of Protective Electrical Supply. They had no children and died within months of each other in 1968, both aged 90.

Brice Larimer McClure (1878-1970) - Master Machinist

The fourth Brice was born on December 29, 1878 in Little Traverse, Michigan, during the very brief period when his parents--William Madison McClure and Margaret Jane Larimer McClure--lived there, close to other McClure relatives. The Michigan foray lasted only a couple of years, until the family returned to Elkhart, Indiana, where Margaret had been born. Brice's father worked for the railroad, but died of typhoid fever when Brice was just 9 years old.

Following in his father's footsteps, Brice became a machinist for the railroad. In his 20s, he was already a master machinist, working for the "Big Four" railroads. Brice met Floyda Steiner (1878-1948) and they married in 1903 at the home of one of her sisters in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. 

They immediately settled in Cleveland, close to Brice's work in the railyards. Their beloved only child, Marian Jane McClure (1909-1983), grew up in Cleveland and remained there most of her life. Brice continued working as a machinist, foreman, and supervisor until the end of World War II. He died in 1970, two weeks before his 92d birthday.

Brice in Current Generation 

While Marian Jane McClure was working at an insurance firm in Cleveland, she met and married Edgar James Wood (1903-1986). They gave their younger son the middle name of Brice in honor of his grandfather, the master machinist. This youngest Brice is a 4th great-grandson of the original Brice in the family, the first in America. 

Currently, there are only five men named Brice in the family. But perhaps that will change with future generations, and now they will know the story of their namesake.

--

Namesake is the #52Ancestors challenge for this week.

Genealogy Blog Party: Genea-Santa, Take Me to 1903

September 1, 1903

This month, Elizabeth O'Neal's Genealogy Blog Party is hosting letters to Genea-Santa. Randy Seaver on Genea-Musings is also asking us to make our Genea-Santa lists.

I made a list, checked it twice, and decided to ask for a field trip.

Dear Genea-Santa,

Please hitch up your sleigh and whisk me through time and space to Elkhart, Indiana, in 1903.

Where else but a family reunion could I ever hope to untangle the cousin connections in my husband's sprawling Larimer/Short/Work families?

For several years around the turn of the 20th century, these intertwined families held summer reunions in Elkhart. Dozens of people attended, and local newspapers in Goshen, Elkhart, even Millersburg covered the event.

My main target for this field trip is Brice Larimer (1819-1906), my husband's great-great-granddaddy. He was "the oldest member of the three families present" at age 84 in 1903, as shown here.

Brice could tell me stories about Bartlett Larimer (1833-1892), a pioneering doctor who inspired his nephews in the Short family to become doctors and dentists. He probably knew the original Larimer shipwreck story by heart, hearing it from his parents who heard it from the journey-taker, Robert Larimer (or Robert's wife Mary O'Gallagher). And I think Brice could tell me about where in Scotland and Ireland all these ancestors were from (another field trip for a future wish list). But as long as I'm at the reunion, I'll chat with every guest and, of course, snap photos.

Genea-Santa, I promise to be nice and share everything I learn with my family and with the wider world via my blog. If I learn anything naughty, I'll share that too! 'Tis the season to be genea-jolly.

Surname Saturday: The long story of the Short family (and Larimer too)

Oh, those newspaper archives are filled with genealogical treasures. Last year I wrote about Dr. Bartlett Larimer, a pioneering doctor who inspired four nephews from the Short family: two nephews became doctors and two nephews became dentists.

The Short family was constantly in the news in Lagrange county and Elkhart, Indiana. Apparently the Short and Larimer families were acquainted and related before they came to the States in the 1700s.

Dr. Bartlett Larimer (1833-1892) was the fourth son of hubby's 3d great-grandparents, John Larimer and Rachel Smith Larimer.

One of Dr. Larimer's physician nephews was Dr. William H. Short (1844-1920), born in Eden township, Lagrange county, Indiana, one of 11 children of farmer Thomas Short and his wife, Margaret Larimer.

For a long time, Dr. William Short was in practice with his brother, Dr. John Short, and his son-in-law, Dr. Carlos C. Rozelle (married to Vera Short). Another doctor brother was Dr. Isaac W. Short.

William passed his love of medicine to his son, Dr. John Theron Short, who was the resident surgeon at German Hospital in Philadelphia, circa 1917 (see WWI registration card). He was Lt. Short when he served as an assistant surgeon in the 9th Naval District during the war.

My Philly Cuz tells me that German hospital changed its name to Lankenau Hospital after America became involved in WWI. Now it's Lankenau Medical Center and still highly regarded.

The Indiana newspapers reported often on the Short doctors and dentists. One testified in a case of attempted murder (a physician shot a young lady!), but other times the reports were of setting bones, checking teeth or attending to feverish patients.

I'm still checking for the obit of Thomas Short, the farmer whose sons grew up to practice medicine and dentistry, inspired by their uncle.

52 Ancestors #21: 1812 War Veterans Isaac, John, and Robert Larimer

Isaac M. Larimer (1771?-1823), hubby's 4th g-granddaddy, was a pioneer of the Northwest Territory in Ohio--and a captain who served in the 1812 war, along with his sons, Robert Larimer (1792-1850) and John Larimer (1794-1843).

Descendant Aaron Work (who did much of the important genealogy research on the Larimer family), wrote to a Middlebury, Indiana newspaper in 1921 about the Larimers' service during the 1812 war. The article is shown at left. (Aaron was hubby's 1st cousin 4x removed.)

Work noted that Isaac and Robert were in Hull's division of the US Army at Detroit, Michigan and were part of Hull's surrender to the British. Isaac returned to the family farm but Robert kept up the fight with another US Army division. Robert's brother John enlisted at age 18 and served in Northern Ohio.

Isaac Larimer (who married Elizabeth Woods) died in 1823 and was buried in Bremen, Fairfield cty, Ohio.

Robert Larimer (who married Mary La Masters) used his land bounty in Perry, Ohio, but later moved to Elkhart county, Indiana, where he died.

John Larimer apparently earned no land bounty. After marrying Rachel Smith in Fairfield cty, Ohio, John moved his family west to pioneer in Elkhart, Indiana. John and his brother Robert are both buried in the Eldridge Cemetery.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #9: Brice S. Larimer, Elkhart Pioneer

Brice S. Larimer (1819-1906), hubby's great-great-granddaddy, was a pioneer settler in Elkhart county, Indiana and the son of a pioneer couple of Fairfield county, Ohio (Robert Larimer and Rachel Smith Larimer). Most probably, Brice's full middle name is Smith, in honor of his mother's maiden name.

His father brought Brice and siblings to Elkhart in 1835. As the oldest of nine, Brice helped his father with the farm and family after Rachel died at age 38, in 1838.

In 1847, Brice married Lucy E. Bentley (which is why I've been hunting her elusive ancestors, William Tyler Bentley and Olivia Morgan Bentley). They had four children: Atta, Emma, William, and Margaret (hubby's great-grandma, who married William Madison McClure). Wonder what happened to Atta? Maybe she died young, because I've found nothing about her.*

Brice had a series of careers, including family farming, Lake Shore agent, and notary public.

He was not the first Brice in the family. Brice Smith (1756-1828) was Brice Larimer's grandfather, the father of Rachel Smith. And the family has had other Brices since then, keeping the name alive for generations.

* The Larimer family book says Atta died young, sad to say.