Who's Number #21?

After reading the Educated Genealogist's post mentioning Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing's question about who is your Ahfentafel number #21, it inspired me to think of mine. Number #21 means your father's mother's father's mother. I am soooo late for this (I blame 13-hr days at work the last week and a half) but it sounded like fun!

My #21 is Mariah Elizabeth Haskin. Mariah was born on 10 April 1830 in Crawford County, IL. She was the daughter of Robert Cochran Haskin and Martha Elizabeth 'Betsy' White.

Mariah married William A. Garrard (the son of William Garrard and Rebecca Dunlap) in Crawford County on 5 April 1849. William A. was born 30 Oct 1822 in Hardinville, Crawford Co., IL.

William and Mariah were the parents of seven children: Thomas H., James A., Robert Elbert (my g-grandfather), Amanda Jane, William B., Mary A. and Dora A.

In November of 1864, tragedy struck the family. The cows they owned that grazed in the fields alongside their farm had eaten some snakeroot and the family drank the milk that they gave. The entire family sickened with the poison but only one person actually succumbed to the sickness; William, Mariah's husband. My grandmother (Robert Elbert's daughter Beulah) told me that from that day to the day of his death, Robert never would touch milk of any kind. I suppose it makes sense when you think about what had happened to him!

William was buried in the Haskin Cemetery in Honey Creek Township in Crawford County. Mariah was alone with seven children to feed -- five older children and a set of infant twins (Mary and Dora were only 15 mos. old at the time of their father's death.) I don't know what she did to make ends meet but assuredly she thought she needed to find a husband. Sure enough she found one -- a man named Jackson Glosser. They married on 25 Sep 1866.

My grandmother Beulah told me that according to her father, none of Mariah's children never liked, must less trusted, Mr. Glosser. Grandma told me about the rumors that swirled around about how Mr. Glosser had a penchant for drinking and had a cantankerous temper. According to Mariah's children, oftentimes Mariah took the brunt of it, but when she didn't, her children by William did.

Whatever the situation was, Mariah became pregnant, for in February of 1868 she gave birth to her second set of twins, a pair of sons. Days after their birth she died. They died before their third birthday and they were buried near her in an unmarked grave in the Haskin Cemetery. Mariah's children erected a stone for her and made sure to mention their father, William, on it. My grandmother said her father -- Mariah's son Robert -- believed that his mother had been killed by Mr. Glosser because he hadn't wanted her to become pregnant and that he had done it by poisoning her.

I have no idea if this is true. It's just rumor and high emotions. Stranger things have happened of course, and there was certainly bias against Mr. Glosser from Mariah's children. We'll never know. I'm just reporting what I was told.

It sure does make for an interesting story though!