Browning v. Beck Pt 7 - The Witnesses Wilson - Are They Connected?

As I mentioned earlier, I received an intriguing letter today. A gentleman emailed me to say he was curious about whether I had any additional information on two of the witnesses mentioned in Julia's bastardy/Samuel's Trespass cases -- James Wilson and James Wilson, Jr.

I sat down to email him a quick "no" and then thought better about it as something went "ding" in the recesses of my brain. I sent him the following reply, which I'll post with only minor editing before making more comments to amend it:

When I sat down a moment ago to respond to your email I was planning to let you know that there wasn't any further information I could offer on the two men named James Wilson that testified in the case...however, I may have been a bit hasty. Something that may or may not be connected just popped into my head this very moment that's made me excited and intrigued and definitely makes me wish I was home right now instead of at work!

Take these as the grains of salt that they are, but here are my thoughts:

My Samuel Browning had a son named Samuel J., younger brother of the Julia Ann featured in the bastardy case. Samuel J. married twice during his lifetime, first to a woman named Sarah Ann Dickinson/Dickerson in Harrison Co OH and second to Julia Ann Dickinson in Crawford Co IL (my instincts are that the two women are related, sisters or possibly cousins.) Anyway, the second wife Julia Ann had also been married before. Here's where it gets interesting. Julia's first husband's name had been James Wilson!

In Samuel J.'s estate papers (1862, Crawford Co., IL) he left money and a bed to each of the two girls Julia had with James Wilson. Now my memory is vague -- I'd have to pull the estate papers to be sure -- but I think it was a goodly sum for both. I found this will years ago before I knew much about Sam J.'s family and relations and had always wondered if there was any connection to the Wilson family and if so, what that was. It didn't make much sense to me that Sam J. would leave so much to two girls that weren't even his family. However, if the two girls were his first wife's nieces and his own children's cousins as well as his stepchildren, that might be a different thing.

...All this now makes me wonder -- is the Wilson family referenced in the trial the SAME Wilson family that the Dickinson girls married into? I haven't any idea. It just seems like a coincidence worth some consideration.

Now for my comments.

I consulted my copy of Samuel J. Browning's estate papers and discovered -- much to my dismay -- that my memory was faulty at the most fundamental level. The first husband of Samuel J. Browning's second wife Julia Ann Dickinson was not JAMES Wilson, but JOHN Wilson. Given that the surname Wilson is quite common it's prudent for me to assume no relation unless more information to the contrary is obtained.

Still, there are aspects of the estate papers that are intriguing. I don't believe I'm wrong to assume that Samuel J.'s relationship to his second wife's girls may be more than simply that of a concerned stepfather. The wording of his promissory notes to the girls is interesting. He states,

"Six years and six months after date I promise to pay Maria L Wilson (and in the other, Minerva E. Wilson) one hundred dollars in money and one cow, and one bed, for value received this 30th day of March 1861."

Samuel J. died in October of 1862. The following note was included in his estate papers:

"Received of I. D. Mail, Administrator of Samuel J Browning Dec two hundred and seventy four dollars in full of the claims of Maria L. Wilson and Minerva E. Wilson, minors heirs of John U. Wilson Aug 20th 1863. (signed) G. W. Dickinson, guardian."

I find no other references to the girls in Samuel's estate papers. Mariah Louisa went on to marry James M. Gullett in Crawford County on 14 Sept 1866. Her sister Minerva Ellen may have been the "Manerva E." who married H. A. Garrard on 12 Feb 1871. That's interesting to me because my grandmother's maiden name was Garrard.

All this to say that so far, the Wilson family mentioned in the bastardy case still isn't positively connected to my Brownings. It sure was an interesting search though!

Another Update

I'm finally settled into my new place and have unpacked enough to make it feel like home. Some troubles with my back have made the unpacking part longer and more difficult than I'd have liked. Some further unrelated troubles may eventually require surgery. I'm hopeful that it won't come to that, but if it does, I'll be away from my blog even longer as I recover.

The copies of Samuel's court case were placed in a safe place as I moved and I'll be retrieving those and rereading them tonight and tomorrow night. In the next few days I'm looking at finishing up the court case and moving onwards.

As an aside, I received an intriguing query from a gentleman regarding one of the witnesses in the case. This query stirred a long-ago question I'd had concerning the marriages of one of Julia Ann's brothers and made me wonder if the two (case and later marriage) weren't somehow linked. I'll explore that in more detail soon.....

Update

Still busy with life. I've moved and the unpacking and settling in is taking longer than expected due to some medical issues. I anticipate being able to get back to what constitutes "normal" in the next few weeks. My apologies for my long absence. I hope everyone had a good 4th and have had luck in your ancestral searches.

I shall return!