Artinecia "Artie" Riddle was born on October 11, 1830 in West Liberty, Logan County, Ohio. She was the 2nd child of 10 children, belonging to a humble and honest family, which was of Scottish, German and Swedish decent. Artinecia was raised as a Baptist, a faith that she kept her whole life. Many variations in the spelling of her name exist, examples of which were: Artemia, Arlanissa, Artimeeria, Artamesia, and Artinescia. It is no wonder that she used the nickname Artie. In 1838, her family moved west from Ohio to better farming land in Illinois. Littie Artie was about 8 years old at the time of the move. The family settled on a farm near Springfield, in Sangamon County, Illinois. There Artinecia lived a hard, but honest life on the families' farm where her father had a blacksmith shop and corn was their principle crop. On February 22, 1849, at 18 years of age, Artinecia was married to James B. Chapman and the two moved to Springfield, Illinois. There Artinecia had her first child, John, in 1850.
In 1850, Artinecia's parents decided to sell their prosperous farm and move west to the Oregon Territory. They had heard wonderful stories about the land in Oregon from people who had returned, and wanted a part of that oppurtunity. Artinecia and her husband James decided to come with them. The Riddles and Chapmans sold their homes and made ready to leave for Oregon the next Spring. All was prepared when sadly, Artinecia's husband James died very shortly before the wagon train left in March of 1851. The 20-year old grieving widow had nothing to do but bury her dead husband and proceed to Oregon with her parents, brothers and sisters, and toddler son. The family said good-bye to their friends who stayed behind, whom included Artinecia's older sister, Jane, who she probably never saw again. Life on the wagon train was hard and dangerous. There being no physicians on board, Artinecia was called on to be the person who treated wounds and even performed "surgeries," she was said by her brother George to be a very brave woman.
The wagon train arrived in southern Oregon in September of 1851. The Riddles stopped in Douglas County, Oregon, where they made a settlement in the Cow Creek Valley. The first years were difficult and people strove to survive, and in a time when survival was hard, it was essential that Artinecia marry. She found the perfect companion in William H. Merriman, a blacksmith who had come to Oregon a year after her, and whose spouse had died on the trip and had one young child. The two widowed pioneers were married on February 10, 1853. They moved into a home near her parents in the Cow Creek Valley, and it was there that they had two children. Life in Douglas County continued to be hard. For example, the Rogue River Indian Wars took place during the 1850's. Most settlers were in constant fear of the Indians, but Artinecia's family was friendly towards them. Her whole family was fluent in the Chinook dialect that the Cow Creek Indians spoke, on one occasion an Indian saved Artinecia's aunt's life. The Indians in turn had their own names that they gave the Merrimans and Riddles. They called Artinecia's husband Shindonah "Long Nose", her father Lom-tu "Old Man" and her mother Mulagolan "Mother". Artinecia herself acted as interpreter in the Rogue River Indian Wars, finding time to do so with her many household chores and 4 young children to care for.
William and Artinecia decided to move and in 1857 they settled a farm in Jackson County, Oregon between Central Point and Medford. They probably moved based on the fact that during that time the Jacksonville area was heavily settled by gold miners, and William being a blacksmith would have had more business there. While living on their farm, Artinecia had 13 more children. Her last child, Winnie, was born in 1874, when she was 44 years old. Artinecia's family included 17 children altogether; 1 by her first marriage, 15 by her second, and 1 step child. Four of her children died in infancy. By name: Auletta, John, Lucinda, George (my ancestor), Laura, Marie, Anna, Isaac, Charles, Mollie, Walter, Prudence, Isabel, Effie, Marjorie, William and Winnefred.
Artinecia's husband, William, died in 1877. She was such a strong woman and had been through so much sorrow, that his death probably didn't affect her as it would have affected weaker people. Artinecia continued to live on the Merriman Farm, being devoted to raising her children. Her last child, Will, was married in 1894, when she was 64 years old. She continued to live on this farm for several more years, and her son, Isaac and his family lived with her. Sometime in the early 1900's, Artinecia's health began to decline and she was compelled to move away from the farm and into Medford, to live with her daughter, Marie Bennett. Artinecia Riddle Chapman Merriman died on January 10, 1917 in Medford, Oregon. She was buried two days later in Jacksonville Cemetery, next to her deceased husband.
Artinecia was a wonderful woman, being what most people thought of as a model pioneer. She did everything in her power to help her family and her community grow. She worked hard in her early days and was rewarded in old age by her numerous grandchildren, who she visited constantly. Her children themselves were spread across the country, living in Oregon, California, Minnesota, Washington, D.C., Washington State, and Montana.
Reuben Harris Thurston was born on December 11, 1806 in Fairfax, Franklin County, Vermont. Reuben was descended from an old New England family and was of English and Dutch decent. He was also a man of patriotic and religious descent. His father and grandfather were both veterans of the American Revolution and his grandfather was a deacon in his church. Reuben’s mother, Hannah Butler, was married twice, and to her first marriage she had a son named Almon Wheeler, who was the father of Hon. William A. Wheeler, Vice President of the United States, Reuben being his uncle.After the War of 1812, Reuben’s father decided to leave Vermont and in 1813 they moved from there and settled in central Ohio, probably in Centerburg, Knox County, Ohio. Reuben was only 7 years old at the time of the move, and during the trip it was said that they passed through Buffalo, New York, which had been burned during the war.
Life was no doubt hard for the Thurston family, especially for Reuben and his young siblings. It was said that when his father, Peter Thurston returned to Massachusetts to visit relatives, he told them to not move west as long as they were comfortable where they were.
Reuben’s hard early life probably made him a great man. On March 15, 1827 in Granville, Licking County, Ohio, Reuben was married to Mary Morse Brooks. The two lived in Granville for the first few decades of marriage and had 9 children: Irvin, Sarah, Mary, Rose, Cyprus, Caroline, Otho, Frank and Charles. Reuben was a farmer and was said to be one of the most enterprising and thrifty farmers of central Ohio.
In the spring of 1856, Reuben moved with his family and settled near Garden City, Blue Earth County, Minnesota. Reuben lived on his farm in Garden City for the remainder of his life and he died on April 13, 1880 on the said farm, he was 74 years old. He was buried soon after in the Garden City Cemetery beside his wife Mary, who died 4 years earlier.
Reuben was a remarkable man. He was a man of independent and liberal views. Before the Civil War, Reuben belonged to the Ohio abolitionists. At that time it required courage and boldness because the abolitionists were subjected to great prejudice. In the years prior to the Civil War, most northerners were against abolishing slavery, and a startling lower amount of them were against equal rights for blacks. But, abolitionists not only demanded abolition of slavery, but equal rights for black people. Reuben was obviously a man of courage and integrity to stand up against the society’s prevailing opinion, risking his own life to do so.
Reuben was also thought to be a great religious thinker. The Thurston Genealogies by Brown Thurston says the following of him: “In religion a free thinker; having a fertile mind, he writes essays and poems upon religious and moral subjects, discrediting the bible as a revelation, but holding to the great first cause, God, as revealed in nature only. He always advocates morality, 'and is a most genial gentleman, a man of good judgment and taste." Reuben was said by his contemporaries to be at the top of men, not for wealth or material value but for his remarkable character. He was a man of great morals, faith, honor and keen logic, which demanded the utmost of respect in his peers. Reuben was not only a model person, but a model pioneer. He traveled west into territory considered too dangerous for the average American and helped to make his country grow to be what it is today.
Josephine "Josie" Lucretia Martin, and twin sister Fanny, were born on June 3, 1845 in Martinsville (now Platte City), Platte County, Missouri. Josie lived the first year of her life in Martinsville, where her father was a soldier and made his living as a farmer. Yet, when she was a year old, the Martin family decided to leave Missouri and head west on the Oregon Trail. It was in the year of 1846 that they made the dangerous and long trip across the country to the Oregon Territory. Josephine came with her parents, 4-year old sister Kate, twin sister Fanny, 3 grandparents and a number of other relatives.
The wagon train arrived in northern Oregon and the Martin family settled for a short time in Yamhill County. Yet in about 1851, when Josephine was 6 years of age, her family moved south to Douglas County, in southern Oregon. It was there that she lived her adolescent years. Her life there must have been hard, for example the Rogue River Indian Wars took place in the 1850's, during which her father was a colonel in the army and most settlers were in constant fear of the Indians.
It is said that Josephine lived in Douglas County until she was grown and commenced teaching schools. She probably left Douglas Co. in the early 1860's and went by herself even further south to Jackson County, Oregon. It was there that she was a teacher and was married to William J. Plymale on July 9, 1863, at 18 years of age. William was a politician, legislator and land surveyor. The new family lived on a farm situated between Central Point and Medford in an area now known as Howard District, where their first 6 children were born. Then in 1875, they moved into Jacksonville, Oregon, where Josie had her remaining 6 children. The obituary of Josephine's daughter, Marie, states that Josephine served on the Oregon legislature with her husband and was a Republican. If this is true, then Josephine was clearly a remarkable woman to have been in politics in the late 1800's, in a time when women weren't even able to vote. In 1898, it appears that Josephine took over the duties of Theresa Bryant, the town clerk of Jacksonville, while Theresa was away from town.
Josephine must have been a great person, and loving mother and wife. She had twelve children total, one of which died in infancy. Her last child, Benjamin was born in 1888, when she was 43. By name, her children were: William, Ada, Kate, Walter, Louis, Frank, Emaline, Marie, McDonough, David, Victor and Benjamin(my ancestor). Josephine died on June 16, 1899, at 54 years of age, in Jacksonville, OR. Josie was buried in the Jacksonville Cemetery, Jacksonville, OR, to be next to her husband, who died 5 years later.
There was much opportunity for the Streu family in America, but they were also the victims of many early hardships faced by immigrants. For example, Sophia’s surname Streu was changed in spelling to “Stroy” (which was pronounced the same way) upon coming to America. Sophia and her family did not stay long in New York and immediately went out west to Wisconsin. They probably first came to Milwaukee, where many other Germany immigrants settled.
Soon after the family moved to Wisconsin, the Stroy family was probably very poor, so Sophia was hired out as a farm hand. Sophia was hired to a family, and probably did farm work as well as household chores for them. According to Sophia’s granddaughter, the family Sophia worked for told her to give food to Indians if they came by. On one occasion an Indian came by and Sophia gave him food, but he made her eat it first to be sure she wasn’t trying to poison him.
In 1859, Sophia was 19 years old and it was necessary that she marry as her parents could not support her much longer. Sophia was married to Henry Hoffman on October 18, 1859 in Greenfield, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Henry was German like Sophia and came to America only a few years before her. Henry and Sophia were farmers and most likely didn’t have their own farm, but would have rented land. They most likely lived in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin for the next several years, where they had 6 children: Bertha, Amelia, William, Henry, Eliza and Herman. Henry and Sophia were members of the Lutheran Church, as were most Germans.
For some reason, farming must not have been doing too well in Wisconsin, so the Hoffman’s decided to sell what they had in about 1871, and moved to Blue Earth County, Minnesota. Henry and Sophia bought a farm near the city of Mankato, where they continued to live their whole lives. In Minnesota, they had 8 more children: George, Ida, Alfred, John, Rudolph, Edward, Laura and a stillborn daughter.
Soon after Sophia and her family moved to Mankato, she had a moving experience. In 1876, Jesse James and his gang robbed the Northfield Bank in Northfield, Minnesota. One of the Hoffman’s hired laborers wanted to kill Jesse James on his way back to Nebraska. Sophia wouldn’t let him though, because she was scared that the rest of the gang would come back and hurt the family.
Sophia and her husband Henry continued to live in the Mankato vicinity where they probably did moderately well with farming. Henry Hoffman died in 1906, and afterwards Sophia continued living on the farm with her children. Her last child was married in 1912, and afterwards, Sophia probably moved out of the farm and into a home in Mankato. There she lived her last years. Sometime in the spring of 1922, Sophia probably went into surgery for some reason and died because of it. Her obituary states she died from complications and other sources say perontonitis. Sophia Maria Streu Hoffman died on March 22, 1922 at her home in Mankato. She was 81 years old and was probably buried next to her husband soon after.
Sophia, or Sophie as she was sometimes called, was a wonderful woman. She was a model American, bringing herself from economic despair to living comfortably, and was also a model pioneer. She must have been an emotionally strong person as she survived so many hardships. She was the mother of 14 children, and was a loving individual who was held in high regard by her family and friends.
Sophia Maria Christina Streu was born on May 29, 1840 in Levkendorf, Mecklenburg-Scherwin, Germany. Sophia was the 3rd of 6 children born to Johann and Fredericka Streu. Sophia’s early life must have been one of many hardships and struggles. Her father was a day laborer and made a meager living constantly moving throughout Germany. In the 1850’s, the Streu family decided to leave Germany and in 1857 they probably sold what they could to buy a trip to America. The Streus left the port of Hamburg, Germany and arrived in New York City, NY on May 1, 1857, aboard the ship “Johannes.”