MAY16, 2008 PENSION DOCUMENTS

These are the lastest pension documents.

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Wow,

There are a lot of details in this second set of pension records. I am going to try and transcribe the statements from the witnesses. We have witnesses to the marriage of James & Margaret, James & Rebecca, Rebecca & Joseph Brown, Rebecca & Joseph Ruthledge.

I can only imagine what Rebecca must have been like to live with if her 1st husband left her less than 6 months into their marriage and her 3rd husband left her after only a couple weeks of marriage and her step-daughter/niece left her under the age of 16.

Also there are two statements that give interesting facts/insight in James & Rebecca's marriage. One statement says that James & Rebecca had 1 child together born dead. Another statement says that they believe that James took Rebecca to Kentucky to marry her because he was ashamed to be marrying his dead wife's sister and because of the questionable status of her 1st marriage to Joseph Brown.

The question is why did he choose to marry Rebecca if there was shame involved and there might have been a chance that she was still legally wed to Joseph Brown? Also when was their child stillborn? Was Rebecca pregnant when James died or did she already have the stillbirth before his death. James & Rebecca were married less than 10 months before he died. I think there might be a possibility that Rebecca was pregnant in the summer of 1868 and that's why James married her.

I think that when Margaret was dying or died in January 1868, her mother and sister came out to help the family. I think that Rebecca might have stayed behind since her husband "died" the summer before. One thing might have led to another resulting in a pregnancy & marriage.

Their are two statements of Joseph Brown being alive and one of those statements even says that Joseph inquired about his former wife. I think that there could be truth in his surviving. But another statement says that Joseph was on the log with another man and they came to blows resulting in Joseph's drowning...which was not an accident.

This almost seems like an episode of Cold Case...except that this case is 140 years old.

This whole sage involving James/Margaret/Rebecca and her many husbands will add to some interesting conversations at the Seeley Reunion. Someone should write a novel about Rebecca Withrow...there is enough dirt to make it interesting.
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I agree with you. I think in one of her statements - she indicates that the child lived for 5 hours. Also, there's a statement from someone that indicates that she "had to marry" Rutledge as there was a relationship going on between the two and he was a boarder living at her mother's. Apparently he had a drinking problem too....I wonder if it started after his marriage...

I think in the neighbor's testimony that the doctor said she was a "yellow-l...." I can't decipher the next word - although it looks like "liversed" -- I'm wondering if it was referring to Rebecca being of Indian descent. I'll anxiously await your interpretation.

My daughter has a spin on the husbands....she thinks Rebecca killed Brown and fed him to the hogs, James was poisoned, Rutledge "got the hell out of Dodge" and Peal succumbed to fear and/or poisoning...... I told her she watched too much CSI..... her reply was no...."Fried Green Tomatoes." Oh, well, it is definitely interesting.

I'm was kind of shocked to read the examiners description of Jane Peal -- in all the newspaper articles that I read - the town seemed to be in "love with her." She was everyone's Aunt Jane....

I really haven't had a chance to really sit down and read the documents and take notes. I want to make a set of copies so that I can write notes on them.

Happy reading.....