Mary Catherine Ellis was born in June 1841 in Oldham County, Kentucky, the eldest child and only daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Ladd) Ellis. When she was about three or four years old, her family removed to Missouri, eventually settling in Athens Township of Gentry County.
William Carl Blessing was born in 1839 in Monroe County, Indiana, a son of Christopher and Elisabeth Blessing. When he was about three years old, his family removed to Missouri, eventually settling in Bethany Township of Harrison County.
Mary and William were married about 1861, and they made their home together in White Oak Township of Harrison County, close to both of their families—Mary’s uncle and aunt, Thomas and Mary Ladd, lived especially close. Their farm in 1870 was valued at $1000, and their personal estate was valued at $500. Ten children were born to them in White Oak Township, all but one of whom lived to adulthood.
William died an untimely death in 1891, after which Mary’s widowed father moved in to help her raise her children. By 1910, she had moved in with the family of her son, Leroy. She died in 1922 and was buried next to William in the White Oak Cemetery.
Children of Mary Catherine Ellis and William Carl Blessing (besides one who died young):
1. Joseph Ellis Blessing (b. 28 Oct 1863, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; d. 25 Oct 1940, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; int. White Oak Cem., White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO) m. (3 Dec 1891) Quintilla Clementine Phillips (b. 22 Oct 1870, Eagleville, Harrison Co., MO, daughter of Warren G. Phillips and Margaret Evelyn Bowles; d. 12 Sep 1943, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; int. White Oak Cem., White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO)
He lived and farmed all his life in White Oak Twp.
2. Isaac Henry Blessing (b. 25 Dec 1864, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; d. 5 Dec 1954; int. Mt. Zion Cem., White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO) m. (Abt 1888) Martha E. Miller (b. 12 Nov 1868, Harrison Co., MO, daughter of George Miller and Eliza Clevenger; d. 25 Jun 1937, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; int. Mt. Zion Cem., White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO)
He lived and farmed most of his life in White Oak Twp.
3. William Grant Blessing (b. 13 Sep 1869, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; d. 21 Dec 1927; int. Miriam Cem., Bethany, Harrison Co., MO) m. (2 Oct 1895) Ella I. Watson (b. 17 Sep 1875, MO; d. 22 May 1948; int. Miriam Cem., Bethany, Harrison Co., MO)
They lived and farmed in Butler Twp., Harrison Co.
4. Vodra Blessing (b. 7 Oct 1872, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; d. 21 Sep 1961, New Hampton, Harrison Co., MO; int. White Oak Cem., White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO) m. (20 Jul 1892, Harrison Co., MO) Mary Eliza Phillips (b. 22 Feb 1873, Eagleville, Harrison Co., MO, daughter of Warren G. Phillips and Margaret Evelyn Bowles; d. 25 Sep 1961, New Hampton, Harrison Co., MO; int. White Oak Cem., White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO)
He lived and farmed in White Oak Twp. They later removed to New Hampton.
5. Albert Ross Blessing (b. 2 Dec 1874, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; d. 9 Feb 1951, Broken Bow, Custer Co., NE) m. (8 Aug 1900) Mary Elizabeth Oxford (b. 11 Nov 1874, Eagleville, Harrison Co., MO, daughter of James Love Oxford and Laura Belle Henderson; d. 2 Jan 1933, Broken Bow, Custer Co., NE)
By 1910 they made their home and farmed in Lillian Twp., Custer Co., NE. In 1920 she and their two daughters were staying in Colorado Springs, but afterward returned home to Lillian Twp.
6. Mary Elizabeth Blessing (b. 5 Mar 1877, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; d. 14 Jul 1937, Custer Co., NE) m. (30 Jun 1898, Harrison Co., MO) Renick Alsco Oxford (b. 9 Feb 1876, Bethany, Harrison Co., MO, son of John Oxford and Hannah King; d. 6 Jun 1953, Broken Bow, Custer Co., NE)
They spent the first few years of their marriage in White Oak Twp. After the birth of their second son, they followed her brother and sister-in-law to Custer Co., NE, settling in Garfield Twp., where they farmed the rest of their lives.
7. Leroy Blessing (b. 26 Oct 1881, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; d. 8 Sep 1944, Bethany, Harrison Co., MO; int. Miriam Cem., Bethany, Harrison Co., MO) m. (6 Nov 1901, Harrison Co., MO) Sadie Harriet McCoy (b. 28 Aug 1881, MO, daughter of William McCoy and Harriet Friend; d. 5 Nov 1971, Chillicothe, Livingston Co., MO; int. Miriam Cem., Bethany, Harrison Co., MO)
After they were married they lived briefly in Nebraska before returning to White Oak Twp. by 1905, where they farmed next door to his brother Calvin. His mother lived with them in 1910. In the 1920s, they moved into the nearby town of New Hampton, where he worked as a clerk at a produce farm.
8. Estella Blessing (b. 29 Aug 1883, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO)
9. Calvin Blessing (b. 28 Aug 1887, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO; d. 24 Mar 1973, Bethany, Harrison Co., MO; int. Miriam Cem., Bethany, Harrison Co., MO) m. (17 Sep 1908, Harrison Co., MO) Sylvia Pearl Francis (b. 26 May 1886, MO, daughter of Charles E. Francis and Chloe Jane Arthur; d. 22 Dec 1954; int. Miriam Cem., Bethany, Harrison Co., MO)
They settled in White Oak Twp., where they farmed until the 1920s, when they moved into the nearby town of New Hampton, where he worked for a railroad.
Sources:
Missouri Birth Records (1851-1910) Database Record of Stella Blessing (hosted at Ancestry.com)
Social Security Death Index Record of Calvin Blessing (hosted at Ancestry.com)
Transcriptions from Miriam Cemetery, Bethany, Harrison Co., MO, online at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~moharris/miriamcem.html
Transcriptions from Mount Zion Cemetery, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO, online at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~moharris/mtzioncem.html
Transcriptions from White Oak Cemetery, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO, online at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~moharris/whiteoakcemhc.html
World War I Draft Registration Card of Albert Ross Blessing (hosted at Ancestry.com)
World War I Draft Registration Card of Calvin Blessing (hosted at Ancestry.com)
World War I Draft Registration Card of Leroy Blessing (hosted at Ancestry.com)
World War I Draft Registration Card of Vodra Blessing (hosted at Ancestry.com)
World War I Draft Registration Card of Rennie Alsco Oxford (hosted at Ancestry.com)
1860 United States Federal Census, 3 Jul 1860, Twp. #63, Gentry Co., MO (Roll M653_620, p. 11 of 64)
1860 United States Federal Census, 3 Jul 1860, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll M653_622, p. 50 of 61)
1870 United States Federal Census, 18 Jul 1870, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll M593_778, p. 10 of 22)
1880 United States Federal Census, 10 Jun 1880, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll 689, p. 7 of 25)
1900 United States Federal Census, 1 Jun 1900, Butler Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll T623_857, pp. 1 of 21)
1900 United States Federal Census, 9,14-15,18 Jun 1900, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll T623_857, pp. 12,16-19 of 26)
1910 United States Federal Census, 28 Apr 1910, Butler Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll T624_778, p. 16 of 24)
1910 United States Federal Census, 26-27,29 Apr 1910, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll T624_778, pp. 17-18,20 of 26)
1910 United States Federal Census, 29 Apr 1910, Garfield Twp., Custer Co., NE (Roll T624_841, p. 6 of 11)
1910 United States Federal Census, 22 Apr 1910, Lillian Twp., Custer Co., NE (Roll T624_841, p. 4 of 15)
1920 United States Federal Census, 6 Jan 1920, Colorado Springs, El Paso Co., CO (Roll T625_163, p. 10 of 20)
1920 United States Federal Census, 26 Jan 1920, Butler Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll T625_920, p. 13 of 15)
1920 United States Federal Census, 15,19,21 Jan 1920, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll T625_920, pp. 19,21,23 of 27)
1920 United States Federal Census, 28 Jan 1920, Garfield Twp., Custer Co., NE (Roll T625_985, p. 1 of 10)
1920 United States Federal Census, 5 Jan 1920, Lillian Twp., Custer Co., NE (Roll T625_985, p. 3 of 15)
1930 United States Federal Census, 11 Apr 1930, Abbott Twp., Washington Co., CO (Roll 251, p. 7 of 8)
1930 United States Federal Census, 23 Apr 1930, Adams Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll 1190, p. 7 of 10)
1930 United States Federal Census, 8 Apr 1930, Butler Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll 1190, p. 7 of 13)
1930 United States Federal Census, 3 Apr 1930, Cypress Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll 1190, p. 2 of 10)
1930 United States Federal Census, 9 Apr 1930, Grant Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll 1190, p. 4 of 11)
1930 United States Federal Census, 2 Apr 1930, Lincoln Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll 1190, p. 1 of 13)
1930 United States Federal Census, 30 Apr, 8 May 1930, New Hampton, Harrison Co., MO (Roll 1190, pp. 2,8 of 10)
1930 United States Federal Census, 2,25,28 Apr, 14 May 1930, White Oak Twp., Harrison Co., MO (Roll 1190, pp. 1,5,7,9 of 13)
1930 United States Federal Census, 9 Apr 1930, Garfield Twp., Custer Co., NE (Roll 1270, p. 3 of 10)
1930 United States Federal Census, 14 Apr 1930, Lillian Twp., Custer Co., NE (Roll 1270, p. 6 of 15)
1930 United States Federal Census, 9 May 1930, Superior, Nuckolls Co., NE (Roll 1289, p. 48 of 61)
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