boles
My Henry County
Connection
By: Linda M. (Taylor) Aker
Email:
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My Henry Co. connection begins with my gggg grandparents, James and Mary (Painter) Bole/Boles.
What follows is the information that I have, pertaining to their
descendants, some of which, were among the first pioneers to tame the wild, virgin
Indiana territory that became Henry County
They, like so many other pioneer families of this era,
built the firm foundation on which Henry County stands today.
I owe many thanks to my mother, Marie Taylor, ggg granddaughter of these hearty
and hard working pioneers, for her assistance in providing this information.
Years ago, she lit the flame within me that sparked my present passion for genealogy. None of this would have been possible without her.
 


James Bole/Boles Sr.
b: 1752 Kilinchy Parish, County Down, Ireland (Or, possibly Cumberland Co. Pa. according to some sources)
d: 1856 Freeport, Armstrong Co. Pa.
Son of: James and ??? Bole/Boles/Boyle Sr.
Married: Mary Painter - Abt. 1775/1778 Westmoreland Co. Pa.
b: 1754 Pitt Twp. Cumberland Co. Pa
d: 10 Feb. 1836 Armstrong Co. Pa.
Daughter of: John and Margaret Painter

Biographical

James Bole, was a Jr. until his father, James Bole/Boyle died about 1798, then he became James Bole/Boles Sr. Found in a biography of his great grandson, John Shafer Bole, son of David Bole, "James was born in Ireland in 1752, and came to America early in life.".
His birth year is confirmed by his gravestone.

The first known record found on the family was dated 1772 which would make James about the age of 20 at the time. He was about the age of 23 when he married Mary Painter in 1775.  He, (James "Boll"), in partnership with George Painter (Penter), who was probably related to his wife, took possession of land in 1777 in Armstrong Twp., Westmoreland Co. Pa. (now Blacklick Twp, Indiana Co. Pa.). The 351 acres of land on Blacklick Creek was surveyed in two tracts about two miles apart. In the fall of 1777, the Indians were on a rampage, causing the Blacklick settlers, including James and his family, to seek refuge at Fort Wallace.

In Nov./Dec. 1792, James and his brother -in-law, John Painter, served under the command of Major Gen. Anthony Wayne in the fight against the Indians in the area along the Ohio River south of Pittsburgh. Although James and John were not a part of the final victory, Gen. Wayne defeated the Indians in  the Battle of Fallen Timber in Aug. 1794.

Sometime after 1802, he moved to Armstrong Co. Pa. where he became the founder of the Slate Lick Presbyterian church in Buffalo Twp. James purchased 125 acres in Buffalo Twp. in May 1808. This may have been the cause of Samuel Dickason bringing suit against James Bole for ejectment from about 442 acres "Northwest of the Allegheny River in Buffalo twp. on the waters of Buffalo Creek".
James pleaded not guilty, and was found not guilty in June of 1810.

In May of 1830, he and his wife Mary sold the 125 acres that he had purchased in 1808, for $700, and then reacquired the land in Aug. of that same year.
James made a will, dated 1822 with a codicil attached, dated 1823 and was proved on 21 June 1836.
The will reads as follows:

"In the name of God Amen.
I James Bole Sen. of Township of Buffalo in Armstrong County and the State of Pennsylvania, farmer, Being weak in body, but of sound mind and understanding -
blesd be God for the same, calling to mind Mortality of my body, and knowing that it is appointed unto all men to die. Do make and publish this my last will and Testament in the following manner, to wit.

Principally and first I commend my immortal soul unto the hands of God who gave it, and my body to the earth, to be buried in a Christian like manner, at the direction of my executors and to such worldly estate, wherewith it hath pleased Almighty God to bless me with in this life. I give and dispose of the same in the following manner, viz.,  I do will and ordain that all my Just debts and funeral expenses shall be first paid out of my personal property, and First, I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Mary all my real and personal estate during her natural life, should she survive me, to be disposed of as my Executors may direct, for her support and maintenance during her life, and at her decease I will and ordain that her bed and bedding, (illegible), affairs to be left by her to whom of her children she may see proper.

I will and devise after my wife's decease all my real and personal estate to Elizabeth Lennington (spelled Lennerton in the will), James Bole Jun., Mary Murray, the heirs of my son William Bole, and to the heirs of my daughter Margaret Girt, widow, and to John Bole, Isaac Bole, Amanda, daughter of Rosanna Bole, the heirs of Matthew Bole, Decd., Isabella Bricker, Martha Beatty, David Bole, Barbara Kineston my dear and beloved children and their heirs the same to be divided equally amongst them, and I do hereby nominate and appoint my two sons, James and Isaac Bole, my executors of this my last will and Testament, hereby revoking all other wills by me made.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 25th day of November A.D. 1822.
Signed, sealed and published  Jas. Bole"

The Codicil reads as follows:

"I James Bole Senior. of Buffalo Township in Armstrong County and the State of Pennsylvania, farmer, do this 22nd day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty three, make and publish this Codicil to my last will and Testament in manner as follows to wit -
I give and bequeath to my son William Bole, one silver dollar, to my daughter Rosanna Bole, one silver dollar, likewise it is my will and desire that this my present Codicil be annexed to and be made a part of my last will and Testament to all intents and purposes,
revoking that part of my former will to which this is a codicil. In witness whereof I do hereby set my hand and seal the day and year first and above written.
Signed Jas. Bole"

The reason for this amendment to James Bole Sr's will may be because in 1808, his son William sided with  Samuel Dickason/Dickison against James Bole Sr. in the suit brought against him by Samuel Dickason/Dickison.
Samuel Dickason/Dickison was William's father-in-law.

Children of: James Sr. and Mary (Painter) Bole/Boles

1. Elizabeth Bole/Boles
b: 31 Jan. 1776  Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 1864 Jamestown, Boone Co. Indiana
Married: Abraham Lennington Sr.  - Abt. 1799/1802 Pa.
b: 1774/1775 Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 1849 Wayne Co. Indiana
Son of: Timothy and Mary Lennington

GO TO: Children of Abraham Lennington Sr. and Elizabeth (Bole/Boles) Lennington

2. James Bole/Boles Jr.
b: 1780 Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 12 Sept. 1854 Alleghany Co., Pa.
Married: Susannah Hawk   Abt. 1799 Pa.
b: 1781/1782 Pa.
d: 1852  Pa.
Daughter of; George Hawk

Biographical

James Bole Jr. was an Innkeeper, Miller and Farmer. He engaged heavily in real estate in Armstrong Co. Pa. and also Butler Co. Pa.

He, his family and his brother Isaac and family were the first members of Presbyterian Church in Freeport. According to church records, "The most active and prominent member of the Presbyterian congregation...was James Bole"

In 1834 he was appointed commissioner with authority from the Legislature for the formation of the Butler and Freeport Turnpike Company. He moved to East Deer Twp. Allegheny Co.  Pa. about 1839.
An adverse court judgment in 1840 brought about the seizure of a lot in East Deer Twp. belonging to James Bole and Adam Metzer. In 1851, James and Susannah sold land which included a Salt Works and coal mind privileges; a small house; "once occupied by James Bole", located by the Allegheny River and the Pennsylvania Canal.
In Dec. 1853, they conveyed a tract of 70 acres on the river and canal to Elizabeth C. Steins, for a token payment and an agreement to support the couple during their lives. James Bole Jr. died the following year. He is buried in Freeport and although there is no marker for his wife Susannah, it is speculated that she is buried next to him.
 
 

3. Mary Bole/Boles
b: 12 Oct. 1784 Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 15 May 1839 Henry Co. Indiana
Buried: Blountsville, Indiana - Blountsville Cemetery - Stony Creek Twp. Henry Co.
Married: William Murray Sr. - 1804 Armstrong Co. Pa.
b: 19 Jan. 1785 Pa.
d: 19 Oct. 1856 Henry Co. Indiana
Buried: Blountsville, Indiana - Blountsville Cemetery - Stony Creek Twp. Henry Co.
Son of: Cornelius and Elizabeth (McFadden) Murray

Go to - Children of William Sr. and Mary (Bole/Boles) Murray

Biographical
William Murray Sr's  early life was spent on a farm in Pennsylvania. After his marriage to Mary Bole/Boles, he and his new bride settled in Westmoreland Co. Pa. where they lived for approximately twelve years.

William Murray Sr. was a veteran of the War of 1812. It is not known at the time of this writing where or in what years he served, only that he did carry out his patriotic duty when the call came.

In Oct. 1813, he and Mary moved to Brown Co. Ohio.  Then, once again,  the young family moved in 1826, to Highland Co. Ohio, remaining there until 1832 when they made their first venture into Indiana.

That same year, William Murray purchased 80 acres of land from Henry Warren.
Henry Warren, son of James and Sarah (Williams) Warren, was the husband of Margaret Lennington, niece of Mary (Bole/Boles) Murray.

Henry and Margaret (Lennington) Warren, in 1827, purchased 80 acres of land in the newly established town of Blountsville, Henry County, the founder of which was Henry's brother-in-law, Andrew Blount.

William Sr. and Mary, remained in Wayne Co. for about 5 years. While there, William oversaw the Wayne Co. House for the Poor.

In 1836, no doubt prompted by his nephew-in-law and other family members, William Murray Sr. made his first and only purchase of land in Henry Co.
The 320 acres he entered in Blountsville, Stony Creek Township, was adjacent to Henry Warren's 80 acres. Additionally, he purchased 160 acres the same year in Delaware County Indiana.

Some confusion surrounds the land purchase in Blountsville. The Original Land Entry Map for Henry Co. 1821 - 1849, lists the purchaser's name as being Cornelius B. Murray.
Cornelius B. Murray, was a son of William Sr. and Mary (Bole/Boles) Murray.
In the book; "History of Henry Co. 1884", it is stated that William Murray Sr. was the purchaser.
It is suspected, but not confirmed that William Sr. purchased the land and placed it in his son, Cornelius's name.

William Sr. and Mary were faithful members of the Presbyterian Church and were among the first members of the church in Blountsville, Stony Creek Twp. William Murray Sr. donated the land and helped build the Presbyterian Church in Blountsville which in later years, became the home of at least two other denominations. By 1857, it was a Methodist Episcopal Church and some time later became the Blountsville Nazarene Church.

William Murray Sr. also donated the land for the Blountsville Cemetery in May of 1839. His wife, Mary was the first to be buried there when she passed from this life on 15 May of that year in Henry County. Ten years later, in  Dec. of 1849, William Murray Sr. married Martha Swan in Delaware Co. Indiana.

William Murray Sr. passed from this life on on 19 Oct. 1856 and is buried with his 1st wife Mary, and some of his children in the Blountsville Cemetery, Blountsville, Indiana.

(NOTE)
Sadly, on the afternoon of 26 July, 1998, the historic church which my ggg Uncle had helped build, and which for 159 years had proudly housed the spiritually faithful, burned to the ground despite the best efforts of the Blountsville, Stony Creek Volunteer Fire Department and several other Volunteer Fire Departments who assisted with mutual aid.

It was discovered later, that the historic building, which had in it's basement files, many records of great genealogical value as well as irreplaceable theological books, was the victim of the cowardly and senseless act of arson. A piece of our communities history was lost forever and the small but reverent congregation of the Blountsville Nazarene Church had lost it's home.

4. William Bole/Boles
b: 12 Oct. 1784  Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 1864  Shelby Co. Indiana
Buried: Hanover Cemetery, Morristown, Indiana
Twin brother of Mary Bole/Boles
Married 1st: Martha Dickison Abt. 1806  Armstrong Co. Pa.
b: Abt. 1787 Franklin Co. Pa.
d: 1837  Pleasant Twp. Brown Co. Ohio
Daughter of; Samuel Dickison
Married: 2nd: Elizabeth ?Neal? Abt. 1840  Brown Co. Ohio
b: 4 May 1800  Pa.
d: 1 Mar. 1873  Shelby Co. Indiana
Buried: Hanover Cemetery, Morristown, Indiana
Married 1st: William? Neal

Biographical

William Bole was a Blacksmith and a farmer. He was disinherited in 1823 when his father, James Bole Sr., changed his will and left William only one Silver Dollar as an inheritance. William's father-in-law, Samuel Dickison had filed suit against William's father James Sr. in 1808 over a land purchase and William had taken the father-in-law's side in the matter.

William, along with his brothers John and Matthew, moved to Brown Co. Ohio about 1812/1814. William settled in Georgetown and opened a Blacksmith Shop.

The book "History of Brown Co. Ohio" (1883), has this to say about William Bole/Boles.
"William Boles was born in Pa., where he married Martha Dickison and where there were five children (only two children born in Pa.), born of this union. They moved to Ohio about the close of the War of 1812, where he became a small landowner and conducted his trade of blacksmithing until age forced him to retire in 1850. H e was one of the early smiths of Brown Co. and filled an important place in history as such. He buried his wife by whom he had 12 children, 9 now living in various parts of the United States, in 1837. He later married Mrs. Elizabeth Neal with whom he lived until his death in 1864 at which time he resided in Shelby Co. Indiana"

William's eldest daughter, Elizabeth Bole/Boles, who married Thomas Ellis McConnell  had moved to Hanover Twp., Shelby Co. Indiana about 1849 and William, sometime before 1860, joined her there.

5. Margaret Bole/Boles
b: 1785 Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 23 Nov. 1874  Freeport, Armstrong Co. Pa.
Buried: Freeport Cemetery
Married: William Girt  1810  Armstrong Co. Pa.
d: 1840, will probated in Armstrong Co. Pa.

6. John Allen Bole/Boles (My ggg grandparents)
b: 22 June 1787 Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 1844  Brown Co. Ohio
Married: Elizabeth Shafer  Abt. 1809  Armstrong Co. Pa.
b: 16 Mar. 1791  Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 14 Nov. 1860  Brown Co. Ohio
She was living with her son-in-law, George Washington Dugan at the time of her death.

7. Isaac Bole/Boles
b: Abt. 1789 Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 8 Dec. 1869  Freeport, Armstrong Co. Pa.
Married: Elizabeth Smith   Abt. 1810  Armstrong Co. Pa.
b: 1790  Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: Abt. 1861  Freeport, Armstrong Co. Pa.
Daughter of: John Smith

Biographical

By 1825, Isaac and his family were among the first members of the Presbyterian congregation in Freeport. In 1828, Isaac was a trustee in the charter for "The Presbyterian church edifice", erected on the north side of High Street in Freeport.

In 1862, Isaac transferred a half lot to his daughter Serepta, "in consideration of the said Serepta Bole living with me and taking care of myself and my wife now deceased."
His will was proved on 8 Dec. 1870. Eight children living or deceased were named. His executors were John S. and Isaac W. Bole.

8. Rosanna Bole/Boles
b: 1791  Pa.
d: Abt. 1822

9. Matthew Bole/Boles
b: 1792 Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: Nov. 1819  Brown Co. Ohio
Married: Elizabeth Voorhees  Apr. 13, 1812  Butler or Allegheny Co. Pa.
b: 12 Jan. 1791  Greensburg, Westmoreland Co. Pa.

d: Poss. about 1829 or, as one record suggests, she went to Ogden, Utah, leaving her children, Ralph and Isaac Boles behind. In Brown Co. in April 1829, John P. Hickman was appointed guardian of Isaac Boles and James Boles, "minors and legal representatives of Matthew Boles deceased".

10. Isabella Bole/Boles
b: 28 July 1793 Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 28 April 1869  Buffalo Twp. Armstrong Co. Pa.

11. Martha Bole/Boles
b: 1794  Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: Unknown
Married: John Beatty  Abt. 1815  Armstrong Co. Pa.

12. David Bole/Boles
b: 17 Oct. 1798  Westmoreland Co. Pa.
d: 16 May 1864  Johnson Twp., Cambria Co. Pa.
Buried: Leechburg Cemetery  Armstrong Co. Pa.
Married: Elizabeth Shaeffer  15 Mar. 1821  Armstrong Co. Pa.
Daughter of: John Shaeffer
Buried: Leechburg Cemetery  Armstrong Co. Pa.

Biographical

David Bole was a stone cutter by trade but also followed farming.
His death was the result of injuries her received from being knocked off a railroad bridge in Johnston, Cambridge Co.
He and Elizabeth had 10 children, 7 sons and 3 daughters. Six of his sons served in the Civil War.

13. Barbara Bole/Boles
b: Abt. 1800  Armstrong Co. Pa.
d; unknown
 
 

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