Society Pages Identify Unknown Photo and Expose Marital Heartbreak

Remember earlier this month when a newly digitized 19th century newspaper helped me identify Lucinda Dornon as the subject of an unlabeled photograph?

What if I told you I did it again and found another photograph of Lucinda, and, in the process, uncovered more of her heartache?

Lucinda, my fourth great-aunt who was sister to my third great-grandmother Anna (Dornon) Benedick, led a life marred by personal tragedies.

• During the Civil War, her family lost many of their possessions as they hurriedly fled invading Confederate forces.
• Her father died in his 40s before she was ten years old.
• In 1893, her husband Sylvester Scannel was killed in a prairie fire.
• In 1904, she was judged insane and admitted to an asylum where she died just one month after turning 50.

Another Photograph
In the same family photo album as the recently identified photograph of Lucinda was a photo of a couple - perhaps a wedding picture - that was imprinted with the logo for the Wheeler Portrait Studio in Taylorville, Illinois.

The back of the photograph included an inscription, "Al and Annie from Mertie and Lou." Al and Annie were my third great-grandparents Albert and Anna (Dornon) Benedick. But I hadn't identified a Mertie or Lou in my family tree, so the image was left unidentified.

Nosy Society Pages 
Recently digitized Kansas newspapers offered a series of clues that snowballed and culminated with the identification of the pictured couple.

The mystery first revealed itself when I came across a brief blurb published on February 25, 1898, in the Rooks County society pages. I was puzzled.

The Stockton Review and Rooks County Record, February 25, 1898

Mr. and Mrs. G.W. Benedick are George and Abigail (Dornon) Benedick. Abigail was a sister of both Anna (my third great-grandmother) and Lucinda. [Yes, Dornon sisters Abigail and Anna married Benedick brothers George and Albert, but, alas, I digress!]

Who was the mysterious Mrs. M.L. Moore who was evidently a sister of Abigail? I had never come across any Dornon sister marrying a Moore.

A key clue was in the location: Lucinda and her first husband Sylvester Scannel had lived near Palco, Kansas. That's where Sylvester was killed in the tragic fire.

Following Sylvester's death, Lucinda had lived with her siblings, bouncing from her brother's home in Colorado to her sisters' homes in Plainville, about 15 miles east of Palco. Eventually, she moved to Illinois where another sister, Mary Susan (Dornon) Vandegraft, lived.

Did Lucinda get married in Illinois and return to Kansas? Were her impending nuptials what she was hinting at when she wrote to her sister on the back of the previously-identified photo: "Sister dear... I have news for you... The sooner you ably answer this the sooner you will get the news. You will both be glad to hear it, I am quite shure [sic.]."

Misspelled Marriage Record
I was highly skeptical that I would find a marriage record for Lucinda in Illinois because I had already conducted that search. There were no hits for a Lucinda Dornon or Lucinda Scannel remarrying.

But what would happen if the search was for a man surnamed Moore with a spouse first named Lucinda?

1896 Illinois marriage record between Lucinda and Meredith L. Moore

It came back with a match in the Christian County, Illinois marriage registers. However, Lucinda's surname was misspelled as Scannen instead of Scannel. Apparently that was enough of a spelling difference to befuddle a handful of genealogy sites' search algorithms and overlook this marriage in my prior investigations.

On June 7, 1896, Lucinda married Meredith L. Moore in Christian County, Illinois. Where was Christian County, I wondered?

A Google search quickly provided a synopsis of the County's location, its demographics, and the county seat - Taylorville.

I immediately thought of the photograph taken in Taylorville, Illinois that was sent from Mertie and Lou to Al and Annie. Were Mertie and Lou actually diminutives of Meredith and Lucinda?

Both the name and location coupled with a strong resemblance with the previously identified photograph of Lucinda led me to conclude that the photograph was likely an 1896 wedding picture of Meredith L. Moore and Lucinda (Dornon) Scannel.

Lucinda (Dornon) Scannel Moore Stanley

Marital Bliss It Was Not
It was just four months after the death of her sister Mary Susan (Dornon) Vandegraft when Lucinda (Dornon) Scannel married Meredith L. Moore. By November 1897, Meredith and Lucinda were living in Kansas.

Apparently, though, it was an unhappy marriage.

On March 4, 1898, the society pages wrote that M.L. Moore had returned to his former home in Illinois. For a visit? Permanently? The paper didn't clarify.

The Stockton Review and Rooks County Record, March 4, 1898

In March 1898, Lucinda visited with her sisters in Plainville before returning home to Stockton in April.

In May 1898, Meredith "formerly of Palco" along with his father returned from Illinois and were headed for Palco.

The Stockton Review and Rooks County Record, May 6, 1898 

The phrasing that Meredith was "formerly of Palco" was unusual and seemed to indicate that he was no longer permanently living there, and, perhaps, we could infer, not with Lucinda who had just returned to Palco the prior month.

On May 27, 1898, the society pages wrote that G.W. Benedick visited his sister-in-law "Mrs. M.L. Moore of Palco" the previous week. There was no mention of Meredith.

The curious comings and goings made more sense in July, when a divorce petition was published in the newspaper.

The Stockton Review and Rooks County Record, July 15, 1898

On July 11, 1898, Lucinda E. S. Moore filed for divorce from Meredith Moore. He had until August 26, 1898, to answer the petition, otherwise the court would grant and decree "a divorce in favor of said plaintiff and against said defendant and further restoring said plaintiff to her former name of Lucinda E. S. Scannel" as well as making her the sole owner of property near Palco.

The divorce must have been granted. Nothing appeared in the society pages suggesting Meredith contested the petition, and Lucinda married Levi Stanley on June 11, 1899 in Gove County, Kansas. She was listed in Gove County's marriage register under the surname Scannel, further suggesting her divorce petition was granted in full. 

I am thankful that a recently digitized 19th century small town paper's nosy society pages helped me identify another unknown photograph, and surface the marriage, and, sadly, the heartache that Lucinda must have endured as she petitioned for a divorce in a very public manner. Digitized records are the gift that keeps on giving to genealogists.

Newly Digitized Newspaper Identifies Unknown Photograph

Lucinda Dornon, my fourth great-aunt, has been a remarkable character and the subject of a handful of this blog's attention-grabbing headlines.

Lost Lucinda: Like Father Like Daughter
First, there was the hope that she, along with her siblings, could help me determine what happened to her father - my fourth great-grandfather Burr Zelah Dornon, whose death and disappearance from the record trail was sudden and shrouded in mystery during the height of the American Civil War. She suffered terrible tragedy. Her first husband, Sylvester Scannel, was killed in 1893 in a terrible prairie fire. Following her early widowhood, Lucinda married Levi Stanley in 1899, moved to Oklahoma, and then disappeared - like her father - from the records. 

Probate Record Lays Breadcrumb Trail
A 1916 Oklahoma guardianship case for Lucinda's second husband Levi Stanley filed by "Committee of Friends Church Cherokee" told the court that he "lives alone, and is old and bed-fast, and has no one to care for him." There was no mention of Lucinda, which made me wonder if she pre-deceased Levi.

Examined and Judged Insane
Several newspaper clippings from 1904, shone a light on the mysterious Lucinda. The articles detailed Levi and Lucinda's trip from Oklahoma to visit her sisters in Plainville, Kansas. While in Plainville, a probate judge, jurors, and physician "examined and judged Mrs. Stanley insane." She was sent to an asylum in Topeka for treatment where she died within days of her arrival. 

Lucinda's Bout of Insanity Topples A Family Mystery
Lucinda's asylum patient file unexpectedly held the key to determining the circumstances of her father's death. According to her admission form, her father died of dropsy at the age of 45 - apparently not a victim of the Civil War as I initially speculated.

An Unknown Photograph
In late 2015, I wrote a blog featuring five unlabeled photographs that I was certain featured my family. However, without an inscription to identify the portraits' subjects, I was at a loss and they remained mysteries lost to time.

Number five was a portrait of a woman in a Salvation Army uniform, with the typical 'S' on each lapel of her collar, meaning "Saved to Serve." The photograph was taken at East End Gallery in Decatur, Illinois.

There was a strong resemblance - particularly in the eyes - to other identified Dornon sisters. Lucinda did live in Decatur for some time following the death of her husband Sylvester. However, her older sister Mary (Dornon) Vandegraft also lived in the state.

Naturally, I wondered if the photograph was of Lucinda, but I had never heard any mention of membership in the Salvation Army.

At least not until another Kansas newspaper was recently digitized.

Digitized Paper Reveals Answers
The Stockton Review and Rooks County Record was recently scanned and made available online. A search of the surname Scannel returned the following hit for June 28, 1895.

Stockton Review and Rooks County Record, Stockton, Kansas, June 28, 1895

The newspaper confirmed that Lucinda was a member of the Salvation Army.

A Note Between Sisters
Although there's no name or signature to identity the pictured individual, the back of the photograph does have a handwritten note suggesting that it was sent from one sister to another.

The name Ernest, written in another hand at the top of the photo, is of my second great-grandfather who owned the photo album. I believe it was added by another person, likely to indicate it belonged to his photograph collection.

The note reads, "Sister dear let me know if you got this chromo all rite [sic.] or not. This is an answer to your letter. Write all the news and write soon. When I hear from A.C. I will send him one not like this. I have news for you when..." The note is obscured by a tear to the back of the photograph.

Turning the photograph 90 degrees to the right, the writing continues, "The sooner you ably answer this the sooner you will get the news. You will both be glad to hear it, I am quite shure [sic.]."

The note, addressed "Sister dear" clearly links the pictured individual as a sibling to the recipient. Now would be a good time to note that the photo was in the collection of Ernest Benedick whose mother was Anna (Dornon) Benedick, Lucinda's sister.

Based on the evidence in the photograph, the newspaper blurb, and the handwritten note, I believe the image is of Lucinda (Dornon) Scannel Stanley - a woman who suffered much in her life, but who did  help answer the question of her father's mysterious death.

There's no better feeling than identifying an unlabeled photograph with the help of a newly digitized newspaper! I'm glad to finally have a face to put with her storied name.

Lucinda's Bout of Insanity Topples A Family Mystery

In late summer 1904, Levi Stanely escorted his ailing wife from their home in Oklahoma to Plainville, Kansas where two of her sisters lived and could provide her with care.

Lucinda (Dornon) Stanley's mental health was failing. A probate judge, doctor, and jurors examined and declared Lucinda mentally incapacitated and made arrangements for her immediate treatment at the Kansas State Insane Asylum in Topeka.

Over the course of several short weeks, her health declined precipitously. Just one week after being admitted to the hospital, Lucinda was dead (see Examined and Judged Insane).

Medical Files Document Decline
The Kansas Historical Society holds microfilmed copies of medical records from the Topeka State Hospital (the later name of the State Insane Asylum). Privacy restrictions prohibit anyone reviewing her medical diagnosis, but four pages from her file survive and are now public record.

Regrettably, the original medical records were destroyed, so the grainy microfilmed copies must be relied on to detail Lucinda's harrowing final days.

On September 1, 1904, Rooks County Probate Judge Hill wrote to the State Insane Asylum to inform them of Lucinda's fragile condition, and petition for her treatment at the facility as a ward of the state despite her Oklahoma residence.

Rooks County, Kansas Probate Judge Hill's letter to Insane Asylum - September 1, 1904

Probate Judge Hill wrote:

"Dear Sir
Replying to yours of 31st in regard to Lucinda Stanley will say that she lived here for 22 years, four years ago she moved with her husband to Oklahoma. About 9 months ago she was taken ill with rheumatism and kidney trouble as her husband says the Dr's had told him but kept up and going most of the time thinking she might be better if they sold out and and came here where 2 of her brothers live and has grown rapidly worse since they got here which is about [illegible] weeks. She sits up most of the time through the day but now has to have help when she walks and it is getting difficult for her to talk. Her husband is 72 years old and his means are limited. Has about $300. It would seem impossible to remove her to Oklahoma in her present condition. Possibly Kansas might collect from Oklahoma for her keep. You will know as to that. If she is admitted her husband will take her down.
Hoping you may see your way clear to receive her at Topeka. I am as ever yours. Truly, J.P. Hill"

The second record is a questionnaire requiring 25 responses regarding the patient's background and condition.

Insane Asylum Patient Questionnaire

There are genealogically relevant responses. For example, the questionnaire confirmed Lucinda's age was 50 (indicating her birth year was about 1854) and that she was born in Monroe County, Ohio.

The questionnaire points to a continuing mystery. It confirmed that she was married, but stated that she "has no children never had". Previously it was believed that she had a daughter Ella with her first husband Sylvester Scannel, both of whom pre-deceased her. This requires further investigation.

The questionnaire also addresses her current medical condition. Her first symptoms included "forgetfulness, pain, numbness...skipping of words in talking..." and she "has been gradually growing worse for 9 months". Lucinda's health before this attack of insanity was considered "fair". This was the first time she had been admitted to an asylum for insane.

Medical History Reveals Family History
The third record is a patient enrollment form. It's a sweeping collection of information on her background and current medical affliction.

Insane Asylum Patient Record

The record notes:

"Admitted September 17, 1904. Native of: Ohio. Age: 50. Class: State. Marital Condition: Married. Children: none. Occupation: housewife. Relatives insane: Family history negative [illegible]. Temperate: yes."

And it continues on for more than a dozen questions.

But, in an unanticipated surprise, the form provided information on Lucinda's family history. 

"Health and Habits of Parents: Father died of dropsy aged 45. Mother died of consumption at the age of 57. Both of good habit."

Excerpt of insane asylum patient record

Lucinda's parents, Burr Zelah and Sophronia (Rogers) Dornon, were my fourth great-grandparents. I have been researching Burr Zelah for years, trying to learn about the circumstances of his death during the height of the Civil War. I was primarily researching Lucinda - an aunt and not my direct ancestor - in the hope that I would uncover documentation about the circumstances regarding Burr's untimely death.

I was so fully engrossed in Lucinda's unfolding medical emergency that it took me a minute to grasp that I had just glanced over the cause of both Burr and Sophronia's deaths.

Apparently, Burr wasn't killed in battle or as a result of conflict with invading Confederate soldiers (as I speculated). His cause of death - dropsy - is an old medical term that, according to Access Genealogy, is "an abnormal collection of fluid in the tissues and cavities of the body; edema (swelling), often caused by kidney or heart disease."

In an instant I was handed information that I had long hoped would surface. While questions remain about the circumstances that led to his early passing from dropsy, it's gratifying to have something - anything - acknowledging his death.

It's a lesson for genealogists that exhaustive research, following collateral lines, can and does provide answers.

The Drama At Hand

The final record in Lucinda's medical file is a handwritten summary of her condition documented on two days.

Lucinda Stanley's medical condition summary

On September 18, 1904, a physical examination was conducted. It found that her head "was rigid...there was the unusual mumbling and groaning and the characteristic grinding of the teeth..."

On September 24, 1904, her heath deteriorated. The notes flagged a "progressive elevation of the temperature... ranging from 99 degrees to 105 degrees F. She worsens declined rapidly during this A.M."

A final terse note also dated September 24, 1904, concluded: "Died Paresis and Complications." 

That was Lucinda's swift end - a lapse into insanity silenced by muscle weakness and associated complications.

Collateral Research Yields Answers
From her tormented final days, Lucinda left a medical history that addressed the circumstances of her father's untimely passing. For me, this was genealogy gold.

But it's difficult to shake Lucinda's legacy. An unknown and largely forgotten member of the Dornon family, I can't help wondering if she was a secreted away memory only ever discussed in hushed whispers. Was the family afraid of how her final illness would be perceived? Generations later - without any surviving descendants of her own - she was largely forgotten.

It seems only fitting that her life's story would hold part of the long-sought-after answer to her father's passing.

Examined And Judged Insane

Three years ago, I wrote about my fourth great-aunt Lucinda Dornon and her disappearance from the record trail (see Lost Lucinda: Like Father Like Daughter).

A lot can happen in three years. Newly digitized newspaper collections and improved Optical Character Recognition (OCR) have shed more light on Lucinda's tragic story.

A Fiery End
Lucinda was the youngest child of my fourth great-grandparents Burr Zelah and Sophronia (Rogers) Dornon. I've been researching Burr Zelah for years, trying to learn about the circumstances of his death during the height of the Civil War. Part of that investigation included an examination of each of his children. Perhaps records they created held answers to his final days.

Lucinda was born in Ohio in August 1854 and lost her father before she was ten. With her mother and siblings, she moved to Wyandotte, Kansas, where she married Sylvester Scannel in March 1870.

In 1871, they had a daughter named Ella. Ella appeared in the 1880 Federal Census with her parents and again in the 1885 Kansas state census. But then she disappeared. Did she marry or pass away?

In March 1893, Sylvester was killed in a prairie fire that swept across the farmlands near their home in Palco, Kansas. A local newspaper, The Plainville Times, shared a horrific account:

"...Mr. Scannel was overcome with smoke and heat and fell to the ground. Mr. Lilly dismounted and tried to assist him, but it was too late. The flames came down upon them before they could escape. Mr. Scannel's clothing, except his boots and gloves, was burned entirely off his body, while Mr. Lilly's clothing was nearly all consumed. Both lay upon the ground for nearly three hours, and no one coming to their assistance, they managed to walk by clinging to each other a mile to Mr. Scannel's home, arriving there at 8 o'clock. Mr. Scannel lingered until the morning following, when death relieved him from his terrible suffering. He was conscious to the last and directed all his home affairs before his death."

Eighteen years after the fire, The Plainville Times recounted the events of that day and included mention of Scannel's funeral, noting that, "Mr. Scannel had lived in Rooks county for 15 years and was a good neighbor and citizen, and a kind father."

That's the last reference to Ella Scannel to have surfaced to-date.

Starting Over
Lucinda's life in those years after Sylvester's death must have been difficult. The week after her husband's death, she published a notice in the newspaper advertising that she was auctioning off livestock, likely in dire need of money.

The paper's society pages briefly noted a visit to Eaton, Colorado in June, and an extended trip to her sister's in Illinois in October.

In June 1899, it seemed that she was finally starting a new chapter of her life when she married Levi Stanley in Gove County, Kansas. The Stanleys settled in Woods County, Oklahoma where they were enumerated in the 1900 census.

For three years, this is where Lucinda's story abruptly stopped. It was unclear what happened to her until now.

Tragedy Returns
Over the course of four short newspaper blurbs, Lucinda's tragic fate was revealed.

On August 25, 1904, The Plainville Gazette announced her arrival in Kansas to visit family for "sometime":

A week later, on September 1, 1904, the seemingly innocuous family visit took a dramatic turn with The Plainville Gazette reporting that Lucinda had been examined and judged insane:

Two weeks later, on September 17, 1904, a Salina, Kansas newspaper reported that Lucinda was taken from Plainville to Topeka's asylum for treatment after her "mind was turned by the suffering caused by Bright's disease."

In its September 29, 1904 edition, The Plainville Gazette reported that Lucinda had died exactly one week after traveling to Topeka.

No mention was made of a surviving daughter, suggesting that Ella had pre-deceased her mother. A final inferred tragedy.

Lucinda was laid to rest in the cemetery near Palco where her first husband, Sylvester Scannel, was buried. A stone pillar rises from the parched land to mark his grave.

Lucinda's name was never added to the headstone giving no indication of her final resting place. Her life of tragedy was lost to time but is now remembered and honored.

Probate Record Lays Breadcrumb Trail

In December 2014, my research into Burr Zelah Dornon's death expanded to include all of his children. Perhaps the collateral ancestors would shed light on his passing and burial.

As I snooped into Burr's descendants, I discovered that his daughter Lucinda copied a page out of his book and also disappeared from history (see Lost Lucinda: Like Father Like Daughter).

The last year of Lucinda's documented life unfolds as follows:

• She marries Levi A. Stanley on June 11, 1899 in Gove County, Kansas. This was Lucinda's second marriage following the death of her first husband Sylvester Scannel in a Kansas prairie fire in March 1893.
• On November 24, 1899, she and husband Levi make the society pages of the local newspaper in Plainville, Kansas. The gossipy piece tells us that the Stanleys are in town from Oklahoma visiting Levi's daughter from a previous marriage.
• On February 9, 1900, they appear again in the society pages of the Plainville newspaper. Mr. Stanley's daughter hosts them for dinner before Levi and Lucinda return to their home in Oklahoma. 

• On June 12, 1900, the Stanleys are enumerated in Stella Township, Woods County, Oklahoma Territory. 

1900 U.S. Federal Census: Woods County, Oklahoma

After this census, I couldn't find records for Levi or Lucinda. At least not until Ancestry.com released probate records this week for Oklahoma.

Probate Record Provides Hint

A search for the Stanley surname turned up a series of documents for Levi in neighboring Alfalfa County. On December 14, 1916, a guardianship case was brought before the county judge by a group calling themselves the "Committee of Friends Church Cherokee." 

In their guardianship filing, they make the case that Levi Stanley is not physically able to care for himself.

"Levi Stanley lives alone, and is old and bed-fast, and has no one to care for him. That owing to his physical condition he is unable to care for himself or to manage his business." 

The guardianship case quickly fizzles and gives way to probate proceedings when Levi Stanley dies two days later on December 16, 1916.

Throughout his lengthy probate record, I saw no mention of Lucinda. Did she pre-decease him?

Documents from Levi's probate file hint at where he was buried, and may also provide clues to Lucinda's final whereabouts. In the settling of Levi's estate two invoices are submitted for payment including a bill for his grave and burial ($21), and his casket and funeral expenses ($122.50).

Invoices for Levi Stanley's Grave, Burial and Casket, Funeral

The final reconciliation of his estate's expenses includes a $21 line item to M.W.A. Cemetery. What was M.W.A.? 

There was no obvious match in my precursory review of Alfalfa County cemeteries. A quick Google search turned up a RootsWeb message board where one user identified the cemetery as the Modern Woodmen of America Cemetery. Another user indicated that the cemetery's name was changed to Cherokee Municipal Cemetery.

$21 Payment to M.W.A Cemetery

Cherokee Municipal Cemetery is on FindAGrave, but there was no existing memorial page for Levi Stanley. Perhaps there was no page because Levi's grave is unmarked. The probate file's many invoices never indicated that a headstone was purchased. 

Regardless, the probate records suggest that Levi Stanley was buried in the cemetery. I've created a FindAGrave page to mark his likely burial location.

If Lucinda did in fact pre-decease Levi, can I infer that he was buried beside his wife? That's my working theory thanks to the breadcrumb trail left by Levi's probate record.

My next step is to reach out to Alfalfa County to see if there are existent cemetery records that confirm Lucinda's burial. To be continued.

Where's the Family Lore?

Where's the family lore surrounding Burr Zelah Dornon?

I've been asking myself that question lately as I continue to investigate when and where my 4th great-grandfather died and was buried (Feeling out of the loop? Get caught up: Poor Guilty Creatures and Narrowing Burr's Window of Death).

Families tell and retell stories about their ancestors. Over time, a story may take on a life of its own as facts are embellished. Despite the distortion, at least there's a story to share. Skeptical genealogists can always do the dirty work of looking for kernels of truth that advance evidence-based research.

When it comes to Burr, though, there's not much narrative for us to pick apart. That surprises me. With nine children, you would think that bits and pieces would have traveled through the years.

Sadly, as FamilySearch notes, it only takes three generations for oral family history to disappear. It seems that Burr has suffered this fate.

Mindful of this reality, the incessant digging into Burr's past (along with the fantastic help of a handful of Dornon cousins) is cobbling together a narrative; restoring his history.

Buried on the Hill?
Speaking of Dornon cousins, I've connected with several of Burr's descendants on The Lawrence Register, a Facebook group dedicated to Lawrence County, Ohio genealogy.

Scottown Cemetery. Photo by Henry Dillon & used by permission

One cousin mentioned that a great-grandson of Burr - still living - thinks he recalls seeing a tombstone for Burr on a hill in Scottown Cemetery in Lawrence County. Unfortunately, many of the headstones have disappeared or were destroyed over the years.

We're trying to locate an early survey for the cemetery to see if a turn-of-the-20th-century census of burials includes Burr.

Another cousin is doubtful. He's been visiting the cemetery since 1969 and never recalled seeing a marker for our man in question. However, his caveat was that there were a few markers that were no longer legible because they were so worn and weathered.

Nine Lives: Burr's Immediate Family
What about Burr and his wife Sophronia's nine children? What do we know about that cast of characters? Who among them had and passed on the family lore? We have some descendancy mapping to do.

Albert Dornon: In June 1863, two of Burr's children - Joseph and Mary Susan - sell land that their father bought in Lawrence County, Ohio, to Albert. It appears to me that they're selling their stake in land that was inherited. I speculate the eldest child was the administrator for his father's estate.

Curiously, an Albert Dornon is enumerated in the 1860 U.S. Federal Census in both Lawrence County, Ohio (with a wife and two children) and in Jackson County, Virginia (with his parents and siblings). The age and state of birth are the same in both records. Burr's family lived in both counties. Is it the same man? Should we map out the children enumerated in Lawrence County? Albert's fate is unknown.

Albert Dornon: 1860 US Census Lawrence County, OH

Joseph Dornon: Joseph's son Burzilla Hoyte Dornon was born January 6, 1862 in Lawrence County, Ohio. It seems Joseph named his son after his own father. I realize that's a pretty standard practice. But is there more to it? Was he named in mournful homage to his grandfather? Perhaps. Or perhaps Burr Zelah was ill at the time of Burzilla's birth and the eternal writing was merely on the wall.

Burzilla H. Dornon death certifcate. Courtesy Roger Dillon.

Like his brother Albert, Joseph's fate is currently unknown.

Lorenzo wound. Pension Record.

Lorenzo Dornon: Two months after their mother Sophronia passes away, Lorenzo paid $200 for 100 acres of land that belonged to "Burr's heirs." This included his brother Andrew, and three sisters: Abigail, Anna, and Lucinda. Lorenzo turned a profit on the land, selling it about six months later for $600.

Lorenzo passed away in June 1910 in Lawrence County, Ohio. He's buried in the above-mentioned Scottown Cemetery. A veteran of the Civil War, he sustained a bullet wound to the left chest that remained lodged in his body.

I'm hopeful we can track down an obituary to see if it provides any details about his parents.

Vandegrafts

Mary Susan (Dornon) Vandegraft: Mary Susan married Jackson Vandegraft. They settled in Illinois and had at least six children. Mary is buried in McLean County, Illinois. As the eldest Dornon daughter, I wonder if she was the keeper of family heirlooms and stories? Are there photographs?

I have a very poor quality photocopy of a picture that includes three Dornon sisters and their spouses. Mary Susan is pictured with her husband. Despite the poor quality, you can make out her strong facial features and see the striking similarity to her sisters Anna and Abigail.

Although she passed away in February 1896 before the practice was common, I'm hopeful that an area newspaper included a death notice or full obituary. The McLean County Genealogical Society was unable to locate her name in their obituary index of the Pantagraph (the local paper). An independent search of the papers from that time needs to be commissioned.

Anna (Dornon) Benedick

Anna (Dornon) Benedick: Anna is my link to the family. She was my 3rd great-grandmother and married Albert Benedick (a Civil War veteran who was in the same regiment as Anna's brother Andrew).

She passed away in March 1913 after a life that was a "battle against infirmity...[that] she endured courageously, hopefully, patiently."

Her obituary notes that immediate survivors include only a brother. There's no mention of any other siblings, which is important as we consider when her mysterious sister Lucinda Dornon dies. Unfortunately, there's no mention in Anna's obituary of either of her parents.

Andrew Dornon: Andrew was Anna's twin. He was the longest surviving Dornon child. He eventually settled with his family in Colorado where he passed away and is buried.

Andrew Dornon

The Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado Springs was unable to locate a death notice or obituary for Andrew in their 1930 newspapers. It seems odd that there was no record of his passing, particularly since his wife survived him and could have overseen its publication.

Phebe Jane Dornon: Phebe Jane is a phantom. She's in everyone's online tree (including my own), but without any supporting documentation to confirm her existence.

Online trees give a birth and death date of July 14, 1850. That's a very exact date. Without a record to provide that level of detail, it seems that this information would have to come from family records. Who provided that information? I want to talk to that person!

Abigail (Dornon) Benedick: Like her sister Anna, Abigail married a Benedick brother (George). Also like her sister, Abigail's 1910 obituary makes no mention of her parents.

Abigail (Dornon) Benedick

We learn that in her final years, she was "subject to sinking spells due to heart trouble ... attended with great suffering." However, she "maintained a quiet and hopeful disposition and her cheerfulness and calm fortitude [attested] to the strong spirit and great courage and endurance which formed ... prominent features of the character."

Lucinda E. Sophronia (Dornon) Scannel Stanley: Lucinda's story was documented in Lost Lucinda: Like Father Like Daughter. I'm still searching for her death location and then, hopefully, an obituary that might shed light on her father's passing.

To-date, her last known recorded appearance is in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. She's living with her second husband Levi Stanley in Stella Township, Woods County, Oklahoma.

1900 U.S. Census: Lucinda (Dornon) Stanley

A letter to the Woods County Genealogical Society requesting help in locating information on her life in Oklahoma and death was returned as undeliverable. I suspect the society is defunct. I'll need to circle back with the Oklahoma state genealogical society.

Dornon Descendants
Are you a descendant of Burr and Sophronia Dornon? Where do you fit into this puzzle? What information can you shed on the Dornon siblings? Let's swap family lore!

Lost Lucinda: Like Father Like Daughter

I'm broadening my horizons. At least when it comes to my research into the death of Burr Zelah Dornon.

I've turned my research eye to Burr's children. Where did each of them live? Where did they die and what, if anything, did their obituaries say about the passing of their parents? Perhaps they hold clues to the mystery of Burr's death and burial.

Unfortunately, the results haven't turned up many answers yet. However, my broadened research has turned up another question. I've had luck tracing the steps of Burr and Sophronia Dornon's children except one. What happened to their youngest child - a daughter named Lucinda?

She was born in August 1854 in Ohio. Sometime after her father dies, presumably in the early 1860s, Lucinda joins her siblings and mother Sophronia in a move to Kansas.

On March 10, 1870, the 16-year-old Lucinda marries 32 year-old Sylvester Scannel in Wyandott, Kansas. A license and certificate of marriage are both issued on this day.

Sylvester Scannel & Lucinda Dornon 1870 marriage license

By the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Sylvester and Lucinda are making their home as a farm couple in Rooks County, Kansas. Their happy home, though, is upset by a tragic prairie fire that rages across the county. It destroys hundreds of acres of farmland and engulfs dozens of structures.

Sylvester worked to slow the fire's spread by digging trenches. The inferno quickly surrounded him. He tried to make his escape on horseback, but was overwhelmed by the smoke. Falling from his horse, the fire was so intense that Sylvester's "clothing, except his boots and gloves, was burned entirely off his body." He died from his burns the following day and Lucinda was a widow.

Plainville Gazette - March 16, 1893

Lucinda's whereabouts can be traced for a short while thanks to her husband's Civil War pension. She submits paperwork confirming that she's his widow and is awarded the pension. In August 1895, she completes a new Power of Attorney, relieving her attorney in Plainville, Kansas and appointing a new one in Decatur, Illinois.

Power of Attorney appointing attorney in Illinois

I assumed that I had been unable to trace Lucinda after the death of Sylvester Scannel because she remarried and was buried under a new surname. I figured this second marriage would come to light in my review of the Civil War widow's pension file at the National Archives in Washington, DC. I quickly realized it would be more challenging to track her down. Inside her file, the first document was stamped in red letters, "DROPPED." But it wasn't because she was deceased. At least I don't think so.

Elsewhere in the file, it clarifies that she was dropped from the pension rolls in December 1899 for failure to claim her money for three years. Who doesn't claim their money?! Perhaps someone who has remarried and recognizes that she no longer qualifies for the pension?

A broad records search turned up a Lucinda Scannel listed as a cook in an 1899 Butte, Montana city directory. A search of Plainville, Kansas newspapers suggests this was her. She appears in the paper four times beginning in September 1894 when she returns to Plainville after an "extended visit in Illinois." 

The society pages of the Plainville Gazette boast a potentially juicy piece of information. In June 1899, we find that "Mrs. Scannell, formerly of this county but lately of Montana" married Levi Stanley in Grainfield, Kansas. Aha! So she did live in Montana and she did remarry!

February 1900 is the last appearance of Lucinda that I've been able to locate. Apparently she's now living with Levi in Oklahoma. Did she die there? Is she buried there? I don't know.

The December 1910 obituary of Lucinda's sister Abigail (Dornon) Benedick states that she is survived by one brother and one sister. I know that both Anna (Dornon) Benedick and Andrew Dornon are still alive and I presume they are the two Dornon siblings referenced. If that's true, it would mean that Lucinda Dornon Scannel Stanley dies between February 1900 and December 1910. 

When did she die? Where is she buried? Clearly, she's taken a page from her father Burr's book - like father like daughter. Lucky me!