As you read about the Scotts and related families in Winnebago County, Illinois, keep in mind that the Rockford area is very near the Wisconsin state line and that records for many of the people we're studying appear in both Winnebago County and neighboring Rock County, Wisconsin. This has led to some confusion, as records will occasionally contradict each other as to the birthplace of an individual. If you're using Newspapers.com you will notice that the Janesville Daily Gazette frequently acts as the "local paper" for both areas. (Fun fact: Janesville, WI happens to be the birthplace of the current U.S. Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.)
We're about a third of the way through the Scott children, so far, and today, we begin with John and Sarah's middle child and her three eldest children:
Rebecca Scott (1839-1928)
Rebecca was born in April 1839, in Michigan where her family was en route from Ohio to their eventual home in Winnebago County, Illinois. The county was only a few years old, having been settled in 1834, formed in 1836, and then reduced to its present size in 1837. Rebecca grew up on her father's farm in Harrison township, near Rockford, Illinois. On 13 December 1856, at 17 years of age, she married Edward Sharp (1835–1887).
Edward was the son of Michael (1801–1881) and Mary "Polly" Sharp (1806–1886). He was one of eleven children; his eldest brother, John, was born in 1824. Edward was born on 22 October 1835 in St. Lawrence County, New York, and his family relocated briefly to Illinois, and then settled in Sauk County, Wisconsin. In 1847, they established themselves in West Point, Columbia County, Wisconsin, about 100 miles north of Rockford.
Four years after they married Rebecca and Edward appeared in the 1860 Census in a household near his parents and his brother John in West Point, but they soon moved to a farm in Burritt Township, Winnebago County, where they lived until Edward's death on 11 August 1887, not long after the birth of their sixth child, Jesse. Edward was only 51 years old. Rebecca remained on their farm to raise her family but eventually moved to Rockford where she lived with Jesse. She died on 28 August 1928.
A. Alice Augusta Sharp (1859–1914)
Born in 1859, Alice appears with her parents in the 1860 Census living in West Point, Wisconsin; presumably, that's where she was born, though later records indicate (incorrectly) that she was born after 1860 and in Illinois. She married Duncan F Rogers (1860–1934) in April 1881.
Duncan was the son of Scottish immigrants, William Rodgers (1830–1920) and Helen (or Ellen) McGeachie (1837–1921). He was a vice-president in the Rogers Brothers Galvanizing plant. The couple lived in Rockford, where Alice died in 1914. Duncan eventually remarried, but as far as the records show, left no heirs behind when he died in 1934.
B. William T Sharp (1860–1926)
William was born in October 1860, most likely in Wisconsin. Records disagree on his birthplace, as several census records indicate he was born in Illinois. He grew up on his parents' farm in Burritt Township and married Catherine Mary "Katie" Drain (1859–1933) on 7 March 1882.
Katie was born in Argyll, Scotland, on 27 February 1859, and came to America not long before her wedding, arriving in New York on 26 December 1879 aboard a ship called Ethiopia. Her parents were James Drain (1816–1859) and Margaret McGeachie (1819–1874) of Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland. Margeret was an older sister of Helen McGeachie, Duncan Rogers's mother.
After William and Katie were married, they moved to State Center, Marshall County, Iowa, where they lived for at least a few years before relocating to Kansas. From at least 1900 on, they lived in Corinth, Osborne County, and both of them are buried in Corinth Cemetery. William died in 1926, and Katie survived until 14 November 1933.
1. Edward James Sharp (1883–1957) was born in Marshall County, Iowa, on 11 May 1883. He was 12 when his younger brother was born; by then, the family lived in Kansas.
On 20 July 1910, Edward married Cecile Jefferies (1893–1971) in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Her parents were George Ervin Jeffries (1869–1947) and Grace A McGlothlin (1876–1924). Edward and Cecile lived in Osborne County, Kansas, and Edward farmed there for many years. In 1920, the family appeared in Saint Joseph in the household of Grace Jeffries, and Edward was listed as a conductor for a rail car company, but in 1915, 1925, and 1930 they were listed in either Alton or Downs.
Edward's mother, Katie, died in 1933, and by 1935, he and Cecile had moved back to Missouri; but according to the 1940 Census, Edward lived on a farm in Washington Township, Buchanan County, and Cecile lived in Saint Joseph, where she owned and operated a restaurant. They are each listed as the Head of their respective households, and both are listed as married. However, by 1945, Cecile seems to have sold her restaurant, and moved to Dixon, Illinois, to live near their son, Ivan.
Cecile was married to John K Bevis (1886–1948) of Columbus, Illinois, sometime between 1945 and John's death in 1948. Edward died in Missouri on 30 August 1957 and was buried near his parents in Downs Cemetery, Osborne County, Kansas. Cecile lived in Columbus until at least 1953 and then moved down to St. Augustine, Florida, where she died in 1971 at the age of 79.
a. Ivan Wayne Sharp (1913–1993) was born on 3 September 1913 in Downs, Kansas, and grew up there on his father's farm. He married Lucille N Nusbaum (1915-2006) of Walnut Creek, Kansas, in 1935, and they lived for at least a brief time with his mother in Saint Joseph.
Lucille was the fourth of 13 children born to Harvey Edward Nusbaum (1885–1973) and Mabel Hendricks (1888–1974). The Nusbaums moved from Kansas to Dixon, Illinois, sometime between 1935 and 1940, and Ivan and Lucille joined them there according to the 1940 Census.
In 1956, the Sharp family moved down to Saint Augustine, Florida. Lucille worked as the manager of the Sears Service Department and retired in 1977 after 20 years with the company. Ivan died in 1993, and Lucille survived him by another thirteen years.
They had three sons and two daughters and they left behind seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren at the time of Lucille's death in 2006.
i. Gary Ivan Sharp (1938–1992) was the eldest son of Ivan and Lucille. He was born in Glen Elder, Mitchell County, Kansas, on 22 August 1938. Because Lucille's youngest sister was born in 1933, Gary was only five years younger than his aunt.
Gary grew up in Nelson, Lee County, Illinois, and after he graduated from Rock Falls High School, he found work on the U.S. Chicago & North Western Railroad until the Sharp family's move to Florida.
Gary married Carol Mae Roesch (1937–2001) in Saint Augustine in September 1959. Her parents, Joseph Roesch and Aagot Rolfson hailed from Ada, Minnesota. She and Gary moved to Montverde in 1971 from St. Augustine. She was president of a spring water company.
Gary was killed in a car crash in 1992, and Carol died in 2001. They are buried in Craig Memorial Park, Saint Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida.
2. William Archie Sharp (1896–1996) was born on 18 March 1896 in Gove County, Kansas, and lived his whole life in Osborne County. He grew up on his father's farm, and enlisted in the U.S. Army near the end of World War I, serving in Field Artillery Replacement from 14 June to 17 December 1918.
He married Millie May Irey (1898–1989) from a neighboring township in Osborne County around 1918, and they had three children over the following ten years. Her parents were Sherman Grant Irey (1865–1939) and Margaret Jane Cramer (1871–1954)
The couple was active in their local community, belonging to the Order of the Eastern Star, the American Legion, and the Downs United Methodist Church. Bill farmed and found work as a carpenter; Millie was a partner in the Downs Ready to Wear shop with her daughter, Donaldeen.
Millie died on 20 March 1989 at the age of 90, and Bill died at 100 years of age on 24 March 1996. They are buried in the Downs Cemetery.
a. Duane Harold Sharp (1919–2007) was born 9 September 1919, in Downs, Osborne County, Kansas. He farmed all of his life in Osborne and Saline counties and owned and operated Sharp Auto Sales in Salina for 55 years. Duane married Margaret Sunshine Tucker (1925–2004) around 1940, and they had three daughters and one son before they divorced.
Margaret was born 27 August 1925 in Missouri and raised in Cawker City, Kansas, the daughter of Henry Lincoln "Harry" Tucker (1868–1933) Alta O Atkins (1869–1958). She married Everett Lee Gardinier (1922–2012) on 6 February 1953. They had another daughter and three sons and later moved to northern Arizona.
Duane married Gloria Jean Miller (1925–2010). She was born Oct. 9, 1925, in Salina, Kansas, the daughter of Charles E. Miller and Mary Hickey. Jean died at 84 years on 22 July 2010. Their survivors included 18 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren.
i. William Duane "Bill" Sharp (1950–1997) was born in Salina, Saline County, Kansas, on 19 December 1950. He married Vicki Jean Fowler (1953–2002) and they raised two sons and a daughter. A third son died in infancy: Shannon David Sharp (24 November 1977).
Bill was shot during an incident at his father's car lot in 1984. He was living next door to Sharp Auto Sales that December, and when he went out to investigate a noise, he was shot by an intruder. It is not clear whether the rest of Bill's family was living there at the time. Bill and Vicki appear to have had a difficult relationship; the court notices in The Salina Journal reported several attempts by the couple to divorce, though they were still together when Bill died. On 12 October 1991, Bill became the first person arrested under a new domestic violence law after Vicki reported an altercation while they were separated.
Bill worked for Federal Express as a courier for more than 10 years and farmed west of Salina. He was killed in an accident involving a tractor and a train on 18 October 1997. He was 46 years old. Vicki remarried in November 2000, but she died only a couple of years later, on 21 August 2002 at 48.
b. Dan Richard Sharp (1923–2010) was born 29 May 1923 in Corinth Township, Osborne County, Kansas. He was a lifelong farmer in the Downs area, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and he was a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Downs United Methodist Church.
Dan married Florence Elizabeth "Beth" Boultinghouse (1927-2009) in October 1946. She was the daughter of Louis Arthur Boultinghouse (1901–1973) and Dora Elizabeth Treadwell (1901–1978), and a twin sister of Robert Dean Boultinghouse (1927–1996). The twins were born on 24 March 1927.
Beth helped Dan for more than 62 years in farming, custom cutting, and auto trading, as a homemaker, bookkeeper, wife, and mother. Together they built two homes, raised three children and enjoyed square dancing, boating, bowling, playing bridge and supporting many community activities. Beth's hobby was family history research which resulted in a collection known as "The Boultinghouse Connection" She was a member of the Downs and Osborne County Historical Societies.
Beth died on Monday, 1 June 2009 at the age of 82; Dan died at Mitchel County Hospital on 13 November 2010 at the age of 87. Both are buried in the Downs Cemetery. They were survived by their three children and nine grandchildren.
c. Donaldeen Sharp (1928–2011) was born 24 January 1928 in Downs, Kansas, attended the Downs schools and graduated from Downs High School. On 25 May 1946, she married the love of her life, Richard "Dick" Carl (1925–2008), in Beloit, Kansas. Dick was born 21 June 1925, on the family farm east of Cawker City, Kansas, the second of nine children born to Nicholas Peter Carl (1894–1972) and Irene L Slipke (1904–1990).
Although he struggled with rheumatoid arthritis from early in life, Dick always had a smile and a kind word to everyone he greeted. He died peacefully April 28, 2008, at the age of 82. Donaldeen died at 83 years on Monday, 2 May 2011 at the Golden Living Center in Downs, Kansas. They are buried in Downs Cemetery.
Dick and Donaldeen were survived by their daughter and two sons, 12 Grandchildren and 18 Great-grandchildren.
C. Donna A Sharp (1865–1940)
Donna was born 19 February 1865, just before the end of the Civil War. She grew up on the family farm in Burritt Township, Winnebago County, Illinois, and married Joseph R Randerson (1860–1943) on 20 November 1884.
Joseph was the son of English immigrants Joseph Randerson (1819–1859) and Charlotte Milnes (1826–1915). They came to America in 1848 aboard the Patrick Henry just after their wedding in Yorkshire. Joseph was born on 13 February 1858, and he was not yet one year old when his father died on 2 February 1859. Charlotte married William Riley (1835–1923) in either 1860 or 1861 and Joseph appears with his siblings in the Riley household on the 1870 Census (though, for some reason, the enumerator listed him as "Josephine" and misgendered him).
Joseph and Donna moved to Rockford, where they raised three sons. Joseph worked as a teamster, chauffeur, and sometimes as a laborer. Donna died in Rockford on 16 February 1940, and Joseph died in Lyons, Nebraska, on 2 August 1943 while visiting their son, Harley. They were buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Rockford.
1. Judson Edward Randerson (1887–1977) was born on 10 January 1887 and grew up in Rockford, Illinois, where he graduated from the business college. In 1911 he moved to Iowa and married Galeta Myrtle Gates (1889–1976) of Des Moines on 27 December. Galeta was the daughter of Charles Henry Gates Sr. (1862–1944) and Charlotte Grace "Lottie" Watson (1863–1905).
Judson and Galeta settled in Malvern, Mills County, Iowa, where Judson purchased a clothing shop from the Kneeland Bros. and ran the business for 42 years. (An example of his advertising from 1938 is shown at right.) They did not have any children of their own, but they adopted Galeta's niece when her brother's wife died less than a month after her birth. The little girl was born Flora Winifred Gates, but the Randerson family called her Flora Barbara, and she went by the nickname "Babs." Babs died on 20 November 2012.
After running his clothing store since 1918, Judson sold the business and retired in 1960. He stayed active running an antique auction through the 1970s. He died in Malvern in December 1977, just a year and a half after Galeta died in May 1976. They are buried in Malvern Cemetery.
2. Harley Joseph Randerson (1889–1974) was born on 27 January 1889, in Rockford, Illinois. He began working in the local packing plant by 1905 when he was only 16, and he married Mary Jane Boyd (1889–1967) in about 1910.
Mary Jane was born on September 20, 1889, in Oakland, Nebraska, to John Boyd (1843–1905) and Margaret Ferguson (1856–1917). Margaret Ferguson's father, William Ferguson was born in Ireland in 1821 and emigrated to Canada, where Margaret was born, so it is unlikely that these Fergusons are related to the Ferguson families that married into the Callin family. However, John Boyd's mother was Catherine McGeachie, married to George Boyd in Southend, Argyll, Scotland - almost certainly related to the McGeachies who married Alice and William Sharp, above.
Harley and Mary Jane lived in Rockford for several years; their daughters were both born in Rockford, they were listed in several of the city directories, and Harley's World War I draft registration placed them there in 1917. But by 1930 they were back in Nebraska, living in Lyons, Burt County.
Records were hard to find, but a brief newspaper item tells us that Mary Jane died in Lyons on 28 September 1967. Harley died in May 1974 in Lyons at the age of 85, and they were buried in the Lyons Cemetery.
a. Margaret Donna Randerson (b. 1911) was born in Rockford on 1 August 1911. She was the treasurer of her high school Biology club and became a school teacher. The most recent census record found for her places her in Fort Morgan, Colorado, where she was teaching in the public schools in 1940.
b. Madeline M Randerson (1913–1999) was born on 15 June 1913 in Rockford, and grew up there. I estimate that her family moved to Lyons, Nebraska, around 1920, and that's where they were in 1930. Madeline married Vernon Samuel Gallup (1912–2006) of Lyons on 30 January 1934.
Vernon was born 8 March 1912 to parents George Gallup (1875–1954) and Clara Thompson (1886–1918). He spent most of his childhood on the farm southeast of town, except for six years, when his family moved into Lyons following the death of his mother in 1918. He graduated from Lyons High School in 1930 and then farmed for 43 years. He received numerous soil conservation awards for his farming. In 1977, Vernon and Madeline sold their farm and moved into a new home in Lyons. They were members of the United Methodist Church where Vernon had been a member since 1925. He held many offices in the church, served on the Viles School Board, and served on the Lyons Cemetery Board.
Madeline died on 1 May 1999, and Vernon on 3 December 2006; they were buried in Lyons cemetery. They were survived by two daughters, five grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
i. Mary Jane Gallup (1937–2015) was born in Lyons, Nebraska, on 5 May 1937. She grew up at the family farm near Lyons and attended Lyons Public School graduating in 1955. She attended Nebraska State Teachers College in Wayne, Nebraska and graduated in 1959 with a degree in elementary education.
Mary Jane married Kosoma K Skaggs (1931–2004) on August 26, 1960. He was the son of Elmer Alonza Scaggs (1897–1979) and Clara Elsie Beams (1896–1980). They moved to Lamar, Prowers County, Colorado, where they lived throughout their married lives. Mary Jane taught in the Lamar Colorado Public Schools systems for many years as an elementary teacher and then later as a substitute teacher.
Kosoma died on 1 February 2004, and Mary Jane lived in Lamar for another eleven years. She died on 31 August 2015 at the Lexington Medical Center in Lexington, South Carolina after a short illness. She was buried near her husband in Fairmount Cemetery in Lamar.
They were survived by her sister, a son and a daughter, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren
3. Banner S Randerson (1890–1918) was born either on 25 February 1890, according to his World War I draft card. He grew up in Rockford and married Gertrude Stuart Blakesby (1891–1930) on 26 October 1915. Gertrude's parents were Joseph Havens Blakesley (1858–1929) and Anna Rebecca Stuart (1866–1940) and she was born on 21 July 1891 in Rockford.
Banner died unexpectedly at the age of 28 on 18 October 1918, not long after the birth of his son, Joseph, and Gertrude soon remarried. She and her new husband Clifford Dwight "Dick" Miller (1901–1972) had a son they named Henry Joseph before Gertrude's death on 7 July 1930. Dick remarried, and he and his new wife raised Joseph Randerson and Henry Joseph Miller along with their own children.
a. Joseph Stuart Randerson (1917–1999) was born 22 May 1917 and was raised in Rockford by his step-parents. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 20 June 1941 and was married in Chicago on 6 September 1941. He and his family lived in Highland Park, Lake County, Illinois.
Joe died on 1 December 1999 in Los Gatos, Santa Clara, California. As near as I can tell, he was survived by his wife and daughter.
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That's probably enough for one post! Next time, we'll talk about the three younger children of Rebecca Scott and Edward Sharp.
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