Matrilineal Monday - Christine Potterf

Christine Potterf is my 3rd great grandmother on my father's paternal side. She was born May 8, 1835 in Preble County, Ohio, the eleventh of 13 known children of Joseph and Elizabeth (Kesling) Potterf. That is a lot of kids.

Joseph was a fairly prosperous farmer in Preble County, Ohio. He was born around 1797 in Virginia and died at 62-years-old. Elizabeth was also born in Virginia in 1796 and she died in 1872. Both are buried in Old Town Cemetery, West Alexandria, Ohio.

Christine Potterf married John C. Ozias March 6, 1851 in Preble County, Ohio.

The couple had ten children.

Sometime around 1855 the couple moved from Ohio to Byron, Buchanan County, Iowa. John was a farmer and Christine was a housewife. The family lived in Iowa for nearly 20 years, but by 1875 they were in Nemaha County, Kansas, after having made a long enough stop in Missouri to have their last child.

1875 Kansas State census, Nemaha County.

I'm not sure what drove the Ozias family to hop through four different states in a twenty-year period. I have found no evidence of "wrong doing" so I can only assume that it was either an internal need to keep moving or an attempt to find better farming acreage.

John Ozias died just a couple of years after they settled in Kansas. It appears that their son William took over the family farm and Christine continues to run the house. Christine died January 20, 1899.

Mrs. Ozias, who was taken suddenly ill with the grip last week, died Friday morning at 9 o'clock. Her funeral was held at the M.E. church at 2 o'clock Sunday afternoon. Her son William made his home with her for some time. Two sons, Joseph and Ernest, are members of the 20th Kansas Vol. Inf. now at Manila. Three daughters attended the funeral.
Printed in The Seneca Tribune, January 26, 1899.

Her sons, Joseph and Ernest, were a part of the "famous" 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry, which I wrote about here. Both Christine and John Ozias are buried in Centralia Cemetery in Centralia, Kansas.

Findagrave.com, photo by L. Hinrichsen

Findagrave.com, photo by L. Hinrichsen

Like most of my female ancestors, I don't know much about Christine other than the basic facts. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. I can assume that family was important to her, having come from a large family and having a large one of her own. She lost two children at young ages (1 and 3) and she lost her husband fairly early so she was no stranger to heartache. She had to maintain the family after her husband's death and keep everything afloat without a man in the house, which wasn't as easy in 1876. Based on what I've found here I have the following "due-outs" on Christine:

1. Try to determine why the family moved so often.
2. Determine where the family lived in Missouri.

This post is part of my on-going goal of 2013 to research each of my 32 3rd great-grandparents more in-depth. Christine is #4 on my list.

Sources:

• Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research. Ohio, Marriages, 1803-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. John C. Ozias and Christian Potterf, 6 March 1851. Original data: Preble County, Ohio Marriages, 1808-1900. County court records located at Eaton, Ohio. Family History Library film #0564963 & 0564858 - 0564859 & 0564963.
• Genealogical & Historical Records of Preble County, Ohio. John C. Ozias and Christine Potterf marriage, 6 March 1851. Preble County District Library, Ohio.
• Ancestry.com.. Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009. J.C. Ozias and family, Illinois Township, Nemaha County, Kansas, page 2 of 8. Original data: 1875 Kansas State Census. Microfilm reels K-1 – K-20. Kansas State Historical Society.