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