Why 1898?

In my last post I wanted to know why Harrison Blacketer and Martha Jane Smith married in 1898. And for many years I really didn't even think about why they married in 1898. I was just happy they married and their marriage record was easily found.

Then I started going through everything I have about Martha Jane Smith and writing up analyses of everything in a Starting Point Analysis Report. And then I found something in my files I had overlooked. My Aunt Lois had sent me copies of family unit charts (family group sheets) authored by Norma Jean (Blacketer) Jones, Maurice's daughter. (Maurice Blacketer was my grandfather James Wesley's younger brother.) 

How the author is related to Harrison, Martha Jane, Maurice, and Norma Jean Blacketer.

Norma Jean had created family unit charts for many Blacketer generations. On the Blacketer—Smith family unit chart she recorded a total of four children for Harrison and Martha Jane. (1)

Wait. Four?

I thought they had three children: James Wesley, Mildred, and Maurice. (2)

But, alas, there was another child. Harrison and Martha Jane had a stillborn girl in 1898. Norma stated she was buried in an unmarked grave at the foot of a friend in northwest corner in McDaniel Cemetery in Cameron, Clinton, Missouri. (3)

How terribly sad for them both. I cannot begin to imagine the heartbreak and pain of their loss.

It also might explain their marrying in 1898 specifically. (4) I still do not know why James Wesley was born in 1894 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, but this does place, at the very least, Martha Jane in Cameron, Missouri, in 1898. (5)

Her and Harrison's obituaries place them in Cameron in about 1895. The information was likely provided by (James) Wesley or Martha Jane for Harrison's and by Maurice and/or Mildred for Martha Jane's. (6)

However, on their marriage license application, the recorder wrote down they were both "of Harrison County, Missouri," on 27 April 1898. (7) Harrison stated he was born there. (8) He lived there in 1850 and 1860. (9) And he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1863 in Bethany, Harrison, Missouri. (10) So maybe there was some confusion on Harrison's part or on the recorder's part.

Anywho, while a sad event, I'm glad Norma Jean knew about this stillborn girl and recorded her down. Otherwise, she would have been lost to history.

And I'm glad I went back through my files with a fine-tooth comb.

Now I need to go back to Cameron. I have another cemetery to visit, though I don't have a lot of information about this burial. I wonder if I have enough? If the "friend" is also unmarked, probably not. But I need a look-see of the northwest corner of McDaniel Cemetery. You know, just to make sure.

Next up? Why have I spent so much time trying to nail down where everyone was before their marriage in 1898? Part of the reason has been to nail down better documentation of James Wesley's birth. And why was he born in Council Bluffs, Iowa?

~Caroline

1. Norma Jean Jones, Harrison Blacketer—Martha Jane Smith Family Unit Chart, Blacketer Family Unit Sheets, 1787-1993; photocopy supplied by Lois Blacketer, [Address for private use.], San Antonio, Texas 78223, 2012; privately held in Blacketer Family Files, Caroline Pointer, [Address for private use.], Conroe, Texas; This sheet does not offer any documentation for the information presented.

2. For James Wesley: Family Data Circular filled out by Harrison Blacketer 3 May 1898, Harrison Blacketer Civil War Pension File including the Widows Pension Application, Pointer Family Papers; privately held by Caroline Pointer [Address for Private Use,] Conroe, Texas, 2020. This photocopy of the file was made by Judy Hopkins of Boise, Idaho in 2018 from her own family collection. She obtained the file from the Veterans Administration in 2000. Each page was numbered by hand by Judy 1-256 but is missing pages 149-156. The photocopy is easily read. For Mildred: Declaration for Widow’s Pension, 20 April 1915, Ibid. For Maurice: General Affidavit of Jane Blacketer, 22 July 1915, Ibid.

3. Norma Jean Jones, Harrison Blacketer—Martha Jane Smith Family Unit Chart, Blacketer Family Unit Sheets, 1787-1993; photocopy supplied by Lois Blacketer, [Address for private use.], San Antonio, Texas 78223, 2012; privately held in Blacketer Family Files, Caroline Pointer, [Address for private use.], Conroe, Texas; This sheet does not offer any documentation for the information presented.

4. Buchanan County, Missouri, "Marriage Record from June 5, 1897 to Dec. 28, 1899," vol. N, p. 326, Harrison Blacketer–Jane Smith, 27 April 1898; imaged "Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/2060668 : accessed 28 August 2025) > IGN 007425041 > image 425 of 505; citing Buchanan County, Missouri Recorder of Deeds, St. Joseph.

5. Pensions Bureau Family Data Circular, 16 April 1915, Harrison Blacketer Civil War Pension File including the Widows Pension Application, Pointer Family Papers; privately held by Caroline Pointer [Address for Private Use,] Conroe, Texas, 2020. This photocopy of the file was made by Judy Hopkins of Boise, Idaho in 2018 from her own family collection. She obtained the file from the Veterans Administration in 2000. Each page was numbered by hand by Judy 1-256 but is missing pages 149-156. The photocopy is easily read.

6. For Harrison: "Harrison Blacketer Dead," The Cameron Sun (Missouri), 22 April 1915, p. 5, col. 5; Newspapers.com (http://newspapers.com : accessed 6 May 2018). Wesley Blacketer was the informant for Harrison's death certificate: "Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1969," Missouri Secretary of State, imaged, Missouri Digital Heritage (https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1915/1915_00012089.PDF : viewed 23 Aug 2016), certificate image, Harrison Blacketer, 16 April 1915, no. 11982. For Martha Jane: "Mrs. Jane Blacketer," The Cameron Citizen Observer (Missouri), 27 April 1944, p. 5, cols. 1 and 2, Newspapers.com (http://newspapers.com : accessed 2 September 2025). Her son Maurice was the informant for her death certificate: "Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1973," Missouri Secretary of State, imaged, Missouri Digital Heritage (https://www.sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1944/1944_00014457.PDF : viewed 25 March 2024), certificate image, Martha Jane Blacketer, 26 April 1944, no. 14461. 

7. Buchanan County, Missouri, "Marriage Record from June 5, 1897 to Dec. 28, 1899," vol. N, p. 326, Harrison Blacketer–Jane Smith, 27 April 1898; imaged "Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/2060668 : accessed 28 August 2025) > IGN 007425041 > image 425 of 505; citing Buchanan County, Missouri Recorder of Deeds, St. Joseph.

8. Special Examination Report, p.16, Deposition B, 11 June 1914,  Harrison Blacketer Civil War Pension File including the Widows Pension Application, Pointer Family Papers; privately held by Caroline Pointer [Address for Private Use,] Conroe, Texas, 2020. This photocopy of the file was made by Judy Hopkins of Boise, Idaho in 2018 from her own family collection. She obtained the file from the Veterans Administration in 2000. Each page was numbered by hand by Judy 1-256 but is missing pages 149-156. The photocopy is easily read.

9. 1850 U.S. census, Harrison County, Missouri, population schedule, p. 845 (penned), p. 423 (stamped), dwelling 32, family 34, Howell R Blacketer household; imaged, "1850 United States Federal Census," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/ : 1 February 2024). And, 1860 U.S. census, Harrison, Missouri, Bethany, population schedule, p. 120, dwelling 811, family 786, Howel Blacketer household; imaged, "1860 United States Federal Census," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667/ : 1 February 2024).  

10. Compiled Service Record, Harrison Blacketer, Pvt., Co. B, 12th Missouri Cavalry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Record Group 94: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917; National Archives, Washington, D.C.