Descendants of many early New England Families Briggs, Brush, Cornell, Ketcham, McLees, Paine, Whitehead, Whitman, Skidmore, Wright and many more ©By: Don Wright John was the fourth child, and second son of Elisha and Guliema (McLees) Scidmore. He was born 1842, in East Line Malta Township, Saratoga County, New York, and lived there during his early life. When his sister Abby Jane and her husband Clancy Denton made plans for moving West, John and his brother Charles were not to be left behind, and by 1866 they had all moved by covered wagon westward. They all first settled near Ottawa, LaSalle Co, IL. John and his brother Charlie took up a farm there as did Abby Jane and her husband John Clancy Denton. John's sister Abby Jane and her husband John Clancy Denton purchased a farm and remained there until after the birth of their third child Bertha on 25 December 1868. They headed West shortly afterward, but then turned about and returned as far as Remington Indiana. See John Clancy Denton. (See "Footprints" Vol 2, No. 3, page 43 and Vol 3, No. 1, page 27). On 25 December 1867 his brother Charles Henry Scidmore married Lidia Lampman on her 21st birthday. She was born 25 December 1846 in Bennington, VT. They purchased a farm and settled in LaSalle County near Ottawa, IL. Charles and Lidia raised a large family there, remaining the rest of their life. See Charles Scidmore In 1868 John married 17 year old Mary E. Taylor, who was born in Virginia in March 1851. Within the year a son, Frederic was born in December 1869. His daughter Mary was born there in April 1870. (We are assuming that both children were born in Ottawa. The 1870 census indicates their birth as being in Illinois. By then he was ready to move on and he headed for Missouri. Within three months, (29 July 1870) we find the family in Fidelity, Jackson Township, Jasper County, MO. John is listed on the census at age 28, Mary at age 21, Frederic, age 2, and young Mary at age 3/12 (Apr 1870). Here the family name is listed as Skidmore. Within the same year John and Mary moved to Clarinda, Page County, Iowa. In the Clarinda Cemetery Records we find that young Mary Scidmore was buried in 1870, no date given. She no doubt could not take the traveling at such a young age. In the following year, 1871, another child, John "Johnny" Scidmore born in Clarinda. He did not live the year as he was buried in the Clarinda Cemetery that same year. Johnny would not have been listed on either the 1870 or 1880 census records as his birth and death was between the census dates. In 1880 John and family are again found in Clarinda, Page Co, Iowa, on 24 Jun 1880. The family name is now listed as Sidmore. There are now two children; Frederic, age 10 and Lillie, age 5. Lillie, was born in Clarinda, in June 1875. The census indicates her birth as IL, but all other records indicate Iowa. John remained in Clarinda for the remainder of this life. He passed away on 9 July 1895 and was buried with his two children (Mary and Johnny) in the Van Sant Addition of the Clarinda Cemetery (All three were listed in the cemetery records, however headstones for the two children were never found). His Death certificate was filed on 30 July 1895 and recorded in Book 2. Cause of death was Brights disease. About 1897 their daughter Lillie married Silas A. Rhoads, (no doubt in Clarinda) and in Aug 1899, a daughter Helen was born. By this time John and Mary’s son Frederic had move on and was in Mo., as we find him in the 1900 census, St. Joseph, Buchanan Co, MO, on 1514 Ninth St. listed as Fred E. Scidmore, b. Dec 1869, IL and wife Minnie b. Apr 1873, NJ. (No children listed) In 1900 in the census of Clarinda, Page County, Iowa, we find Mary Scidmore enumerated with Lillie and Silas A. Rhoads, along with their daughter Helen. Mary was listed as "Mary Sicdemore". By 1910 we find Lillie, Silas, and Helen still listed in Clarinda, but Mary is not living with them. Her where-abouts in 1910 is still unknown, but we know that she died in 1927 and was buried beside her husband and two children in the Van Sant Addition of the Clarinda Cemetery. (Her death certificate was not filed with the Clarinda County Courthouse as by 1927 all records were being filed in the state capital.) One of the oddities of the census records are small items that pop-up and can throw a person off when they use only one census record for documentation. From year to year the length of marriage is different, ages are different and in the 1900 census Mary indicated that she had only one child. Actually only one child is living there at that time. Either she misunderstood the question or had forgotten the son living in St. Joseph, MO, and the two children (and possibly three) she buried in the Clarinda Cemetery. There is, of course, the possibility that someone else answered the questions for her. Only two headstones for the family were found in the Van Sant section of the Clarinda Cemetery. They are of John Scidmore and Mary Scidmore. They had the following inscriptions:
Mother: Mary E. Scidmore 1852-1927 Note: The middle initial "E" was found only on the headstone. One record shows her middle name as "Eliza". No other records show the initial. We also have a death certificate of John Scidmore on hand. (Two of their children were listed in the cemetery records, but no headstones were found.) A follow-up will be made in the near future to find the history of Silas and Lillie Rhoads and of Helen. Another oddity, when photographing the two headstones from a distance, I found another headstone directly in front of theirs. That of Sarah Wright (who is not related). A possible fifth child for John and Mary Scidmore. While visiting Susan Scidmore in 1987 we saw a picture of a child "In Death" (In a small carriage, with arms crossed and holding flowers) that had been sent to Charles Scidmore. On the back it had "Mary to Charly" and "Little Eddie". We are not sure who's child it was, nor which "Mary" it came from, but it is believed to be from Mary Scidmore, wife of John Scidmore to Charles Scidmore, brother of John. The picture was taken in Clarinda, Iowa. The picture style looked pre 1900. If this is the case, it could very possibly be another child of Mary and John, or of Silas and Lillie Rhoads. Further checks must be made on both families. Children of John and Mary Scidmore
Listed in Census Records with parents 1870 - Fidelity, Jasper Co, MO., 29 July 1870, Age 0, pg 15 1880 - Clarinda, Page Co, Iowa, 26 June 1880, Age 10, pg 4 Listed in Iowa State Census 1895 - Residence: Clarinda Fred Scidmore, Age 25, b. IL. Listed in Census As head of family 1900 - Census - 1514 Ninth St, St Joseph, Buchanan Co, MO Fred E. Scidmore, age 30, Dec 1869 IL Minnie Scidmore, Age 29, Apr 1873 NJ (no children listed) 1920 - Census - Kansas City Ward, Jackson, Missouri Fred E. Scidmore, Age 50, IL Minnie Scidmore, Age 47, NJ Harold Akin, age 13, IO Nephew 1930 - Census, Kansas City, Jackson Co, Missouri Fred E. Scidmore, Age 60, IL Minnie Scidmore, Age 56, NJ Harold Akin, age 23, IO Listed in Census as Head of Family Super Dist 4, Enumeration Dist 65, Sheet No 3, pg 5205 Scidmore, Fred - male, Dec 1869,
2 - Mary Scidmore 1850 Census 1860 Census 1870 Census 1870 - Fidelity, Jackson Township, Jasper Co, MO 29 Jul 1870Skidmore, John 28 Mary 21 Frederic 2 Mary 3/12 1880 Census
1895 Census
1900 Census
1910 Census
1920 Census
1930 Census  Please place in the Subject Line: WEBPAGE-HISTORY 
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