(9” high; green in color; contains a small amount of ancient tea.)
I found this typewritten story among my grandmothers papers. My notes are in italic. My grandmother (born 1908) wrote: This is the story as my grandmother (born 1860) told it to me:-
“This bottle was given to me by my great-grandmother (born 1795). It was given to her by her son, William (born about 1812), just before they went West, and she never saw him again. She used it for her tea bottle. This is the very tea she put in it with her very own fingers.
Will was traveling by covered wagon with his wife, two little daughters, and his best friend.
One day (in 1846), somewhere in the wilds of Kansas, Will and his friend went hunting. After they had been gone all day, and it was beginning to get dark, Will’s wife was becoming worried about them. She heard a shot, and quite some time later, the friend came back to the wagon and said: “Has Will come in yet? We separated to hunt, decided on a meeting place, but I’ve waited a long time and he hasn’t shown up yet. I even shot off my gun once, but he didn’t answer” She anxiously told him that she hadn’t seen Will, so he searched and fired his gun all night long looking for Will, but no Will could he find, – or so he said. So, there was nothing to do, after waiting a week, but go on without Will.
Will’s wife, not knowing what else to do, purchased a boarding house in the first town she came to. About a year later she married the friend, and about a year after that, the friend became very ill, and realized that he was dying, so he told her that he had shot Will, so he could get her. He told her exactly where he had hidden Will. After the friend’s death, a search party went out, and sure enough, there were Will’s bones under a sort of a little bridge.”
Antebellum Scrolled Violin Flask
QUESTIONS:
Where did this family live in 1846?
What did “West” mean in 1846
What were the boundaries of Kansas?
What town did they stop in?
Where was Will’s body found?
What was the murderer’s name?
Things I know:
William Coleman 1814?-1846
His parents:
William Coleman
b. 1791; Armstrong County, PA
d. 28 Oct 1846; Oregon City, Ogle, IL
married Martha Copper
b. 1795;
1850 census Whiteside County, Illinois
1860 census Hamilton Township, Hamilton County, Iowa
1880 census Edison, Furnas County, Nebraska
d. 1884;
Other children:
John Coleman 1812-1897 (died at Webster City, Hamilton, Iowa)
Sarah Coleman 1815-1910 married William Russell
Charlet Coleman married Tom Stricker
Izzie Coleman married Levi R. Olmstead
COLABORATION: Have you heard this same story in your family? Let’s put the pieces together!
PS/ What have you written for your great great grandchild to discover? Who knows maybe future technology will make it easier to unravel a family mystery.
Geneographer 