John Vane was born in Feb 1824 in Brown Co., Ohio, the son of John Vane (1795-1860) and Eleanor Blair (1795-1845). He married Adaline Plymell -- born 7 Apr 1827 in either Delaware Co OH or Marion Co., OH, the daughter of James Plymell and Margaret (rumored to be half Wyandotte) -- on 2 Nov 1848 in Crawford Co., IL.
To put this in perspective (and to better clarify her relationship to the two women who filled out the Hair Book) -- Adaline Plymell was my 3rd-g-grandmother Delinda Jane Plymell's sister; hence, she was Eliza Ursula (Nichols) Swan's aunt and Estella Jane (Swan) Browning's great aunt. Adaline is my 3rd great-grandaunt.
John and Adaline had the following children:
1) Martin Luther Vane (b. 1850 Crawford Co., IL , d. bef 1860)
2) William ‘Wiley’ Shannon Vane (b. 1852 Crawford Co., IL, m. Augusta King 24 Apr 1887 in Crawford Co., KS, d. unk)
3) George Edward Vane (b. 16 Jan 1853 Crawford Co., IL, never married, d. 15 Jan 1903, Arcadia, Crawford Co., KS.)
4) Cymantha Jane Vane (b. 25 Sep 1859 Richland Co. or Macon Co., IL, m. James William Curnutt Feb 1874 Arcadia, Crawford Co., KS, d. 21 Jun 1925 Arcadia, Crawford Co., KS.)
5) William James Vane (b. Mar 1869 Macon Co., IL, m. Martha Dodson c1891 KS, d. 1948 Arcadia, Crawford Co., KS)
I haven’t found the family on the 1850 census but they were located living in Denver Twn in Richland Co., IL in 1860, possibly because Adaline’s brother William Wallace Plymell was also living in Richland County at that time. By 1870 the Vane family had moved on to Decatur in Macon Co., IL. I’d place their move to Decatur a little earlier, though, because of a picture I have in my collection of John and Adaline’s two youngest children Cymantha and James (Chimie = probably a phonetic spelling of “Jimmie.”) The back stamp of the photo indicates it was taken in Decatur; I can date this photo fairly precisely to 1869. How can I? To find out more, please click over to the post I wrote about the picture and the photographer HERE.
I have no doubt that the reason Adaline’s sister Mary (Plymell) Emery and her husband Thomas moved to Decatur and then on to Kansas had a lot to do with the decisions that other family members made about their family’s futures. As it happens time and again, John and Adaline Vane had also decided to follow in the footsteps of their relatives. Thomas and Mary (Plymell) Emery were in Decatur, Macon Co., IL by 1870 and had moved to Wichita in Sedgwick Co., KS in 1871. William Wallace Plymell, Adaline and Mary’s oldest brother, had a few sons that moved to Wichita as well. I’m not sure when the boys moved there, but family tradition in Wallace’s family says Wallace himself arrived in Belle Plaine in Sumner Co., KS by 1873. John and Adaline (Plymell) Vane also packed up and moved to Arcadia in Crawford Co., KS in approximately the same time frame -- c1872.
The younger children of John and Adaline (Plymell) Vane grew up in Arcadia, KS and raised families there but their two oldest are more of an enigma. Wiley (probably a phonetic spelling for "Willie") or as he was more commonly called, Shannon Vane, married Augusta King in Kansas but I’ve been unable to locate him in the 1900 census. And George? He died a bachelor and was buried on his 40th birthday. I believe I do have a picture of him, though! To see it (and how I came to believe the unidentified picture is George) you’ll have to go HERE.
I don’t have any identified samples of hair from any of the Vane family. Their names are listed in the book and dates are under many of their names but no actual hair samples are sewn in. I may actually have some hair from them since I have a few clumps of unidentified hair tucked into the lip of the front cover of the Hair Book, but of course I'll never know for sure if I do. That’s too bad.
Eliza Ursula, the first owner of the book and Adaline (Plymell) Vane’s niece, definitely cared about her aunt and uncle and they cared about her. I have a letter that John Vane wrote from Kansas to Eliza Ursula and her daughter Estella Jane back in Illinois. Even though they were separated by many miles and by many years (at the time of this letter it was 1886 and the Vanes had been in Kansas for over a decade) it appears that they wrote back and forth to each other fairly often. The letters reference hearing from them "once more," so the two families definitely stayed in touch.
Since I don’t have any hair samples, I’ll post the letter instead:
The transcription is as follows:
{All comments in [brackets] are identifying notations for people and places}
1) Dec 16th 1886
Dear Nieces [Eliza Ursula (Nichols) Swan & her daughter Estella Jane (Swan) Browning]-
We received your letter in due time were very glad to hear from you once more - but sorry to hear of you all being so much afflicted it does seem that is the lot of some to have a great deal of affliction in this life - but if faithful to our trust it will let us more fully enjoy rest in the sweet beyond. We are all tolerably well but Shannon [William Shannon Vane, b. 1852]. He has been very sick for the last six weeks the doctor says he has the chronic malaria fever originating from a chronic enlargement of the spleen - he suffer very great pain at times
Pg 2) he very wild some times - his nervous system is all unstrung he dont know what he is talking about a great deal of the time the doctor says it will be three or four and maybe six months before he is well I for my part think his recovery is very doubtful - he has been ailing so long and it has so prostrated his whole system that it dont seem possible to build him up again -- Though the Doctor seems to be very hopeful of him our light has not been out of rights for six weeks.
Pg 3) We will try to answer your questions. Norton [probably Norton Vane, b. c1828 in Ohio] sends me a roll of papers every few weeks The Argus and Enterprise -- John Plymell and his wife were parted a few years ago I dont know whether they ever went together again or not Cordova and his wife were parted we never heard whether went together again or not. I wrote to Wallace twice to tell us the boys were doing [John & Cordova are sons of Wallace W. Plymell and either Margaret J. Grimes or Sophia Jane Cox]
Pg 4) doing but not got an answer yet have not heard from them for over two years - have not had a letter from Fuller [James Fuller Plymell] for seven or eight years I answered his last but he never replied. Well Estella [Estella Jane (Swan) Browning] your Aunt [Adaline (Plymell) Vane] thinks your dresses are very nice and would be very glad to see you with them on - we are all very much pleased to get a letter from you - you are improving very much in your writing Our love to all - Please write one and all whenever convenient
John Vane
(on page three, written upside down:
We send our best respects to Miss Susan McCarty - tell her to write to us
(and on page three, written in the left hand side margin:
Your aunt says she would like some of (those seed)
---
And what happened to John and Adaline?
A few years after writing this letter to Eliza Ursula and Estella, both John and Adaline passed away. According to Ken Groves, a cousin of mine and a great researcher on the Plymell, Emery and Vane lines, "John’s obituary is listed in the 23 May 1889 edition of the Arcadia (KS) Democrat. It listed his death on Friday 17 May 1889 and his age at death as 65 years 3 months and 7 days. It also listed his burial on the next day. According to Adaline's obit from the Arcadia (KS) Democrat, she died on 24 Apr 1890 at home from paralysis. Age at death was 60 years 3 months and 18 days. John and Adaline are buried together (in the Old Arcadia Cemetery in Arcadia, Crawford Co., KS) with no headstone."
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