Minerva

On By mcphilbrickIn Evans, Warrick County Indiana

Messy Family Part 2

In trying to figure out the family structure for James Evans and his wife Sally Garret, I’ve been researching all of the supposed children shown on FamilySearch.

One of those questionable children is Polly Ann Evans (1816-1880) who married John Jesse Hubbard. While I question whether Polly Ann is actually a daughter of James and Sally, I don’t have any source to justify removing her from the family. Thus, I’ve been researching her children in hopes of finding something that might identify her parents.

And my research of her eldest son, Charles Hubbard led to another ‘mess’. Two different Ancestry sources indicate that a Charles Hubbard married Minerva Boyer in 1857 in Warrick County, Indiana.

Both of these Ancestry indexes provided the FamilySearch film number. In hopes of learning more about Charles and his parents, I used those film numbers to locate the record on FamilySearch. Unfortunately, that did not provide any additional information about Charles. Thus, the question

  • Is this marriage record for Charles Hubbard, son of Polly Evans Hubbard, or is it for a different Charles Hubbard?

And an even more questions:

  • Why was Minerva’s surname changed from Boyer to Bullock?
  • Why isn’t Charles Hubbard listed as a spouse for Minerva when the FamilySearch record is attached to her?

Continuing to research Charles Hubbard, I found Charles and Minerva listed in the 1860 census in Anderson Township, Warrick county, Indiana. The census record did not show any children in the family. However, I haven’t been able to find any additional information for Charles Hubbard.

While I moved on to researching Charles’ siblings, the identity of Minerva kept troubling me. So I would occasionally go back to Minerva to try and figure out the identity of Charles’ wife. Since the Minerva Bullock profile shows another spouse for her, I searched for another marriage record, this one to Frederick Kocherhans. And I found that Minerva Hubbard married Frederick Kocherhans in 1864 in Warrick County, Indiana.

Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019 on Family Search

This supports the theory that FamilySearch profile for Minerva Bullock could be the Minerva Boyer, wife of Charles Hubbard.

While I continued to try to locate records for Charles Hubbard, I also started searching for Minerva Kocherhans. That search uncovered census records for Frederick and Minerva in 1880 and 1900 Indiana. Neither of those records included any children in the family. In addition, I found a death certificate for Minerva Kocherhans that identified her father as William Bullock!

Now that I have a document showing Minerva’s maiden name as Bullock, I returned to marriage records looking for a Bullock / Boyer marriage. And I found that in 1856, Minerva Bullock married William Boyer. Thus, I have the following timeline:

  • 1856 – Minerva Bullock marries William Boyer in Warrick County, Indiana
  • 1857 – Minerva Boyer marries Charles Hubbard in Warrick County, Indiana
  • 1860 census – Minerva and Charles are living in Warrick County, Indiana with no children
  • 1864 Minerva Hubbard marries Frederick Kocherhans in Warrick County, Indiana
  • 1870 Warrick County Indiana census has a Fred Cockerins and Mariah living in Anderson Township. While the names are spelled differently, this is likely Fred Kocherhans and his wife Minerva. Again, no children are listed in the household.
  • 1880 census – Minerva and Frederick Kocherhans are living in Warrick County, Indiana with no children
  • 1900 census – Minerva and Frederick Kocherhans are living in Warrick County, Indiana with no children
  • 1908 Minerva Kocherhans dies in Warrick County, Indiana

While the above timeline does not show children for Minerva, the FamilySearch tree does.

Children linked to Minerva Bullock

Since two of the children had an obituary for Minerva Boyer attached as a source, I looked up that obituary.

The Canton Repository and the Canton Daily News (Canton, OH)
Aug 30, 1934
page 12

Mrs. Minerva Ann Boyer
Canton Resident for 46 years
Stricken Wednesday at Home
Mrs. Minerva Ann Boyer, 78, died Wednesday afternoon in the home, 410 Janet ct NW, from a complication of diseases. She was the widow of William Boyer, who died two years ago. Mrs. Boyer had been a Canton resident for 46 years.
Her survivors include a daughter, Mrs. Flora B. Kohring; three sons, William, Charles and Earl, all of Canton; a sister, Mrs. Belle Way of Ashland.
…
Burial will be in Northlawn cemetery.

This 1934 obituary states that Minerva Boyer was 78 at the time of her death. Thus, the Minerva Boyer in the obituary was born about 1856. This is ironic since this obituary is attached as a source to two children of Minerva Boyer who were born in 1859 and 1861. Another discrepancy is that the Minerva Boyer in the obituary lived in Canton Ohio while the marriage records are in Warrick County, Indiana. However, it does indicate that she is the widow of William Boyer.

Thus, I searched for an obituary for William Boyer of Canton, Ohio who died about 1932. While I didn’t find an obituary for a William Boyer, I did find one for a Joseph Boyer. Joseph Boyer’s obituary contains the same street address as the obituary for Minerva Boyer. In addition, it identifies the same children.

The Canton Repository and The Canton Daily News (Canton, OH)
Sep 1 1932
page 8

Deaths and Funerals
Boyer, Joseph, 75 of 410 Janet court, NE, died today at his home from a complication of diseases. He was employed for 25 years by the Wheeling & Lake Erie railroad, retiring eight years ago. … Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Minerva Boyer; three sons, William of the home, Charles and Earl of Canton; a daughter, Mrs. Flora Kohring of Canton;
…
Burial will be in Northlawn cemetery

Since both obituaries identified the burial place as Northlawn cemetery, I searched Find a Grave and found memorial # 236782995 for Minerva Carnes Boyer which identifies Minerva’s parents as David Carnes and Mary Webb Carnes. Returning to FamilySearch, I located this Minerva Boyer and her family, including sons William and Charles.

Thus, the obituary used to link William and Charles Boyer to Minerva Bullock is for the wrong Minerva.

Based on this research of Minerva, I plan to

  • Attach the sources I have accumulated for Minerva to her profile
  • Remove the obituary sources from the son’s profiles — with an explanation as to why
  • Add a note to Minerva Bullock outlining my findings and why I made the changes to her profile
  • Remove the children from Minerva Bullock’s profile

Minerva Bullock (1837-1908)

Minerva Bullock was born on 31 Oct 1837. [1–2]

She married William Boyer on 23 Dec 1856 in Warrick County, Indiana. [3]

She married Charles F Hubbard on 28 Oct 1857 in Indiana. [4–6]

She lived in Anderson Township, Warrick, Indiana, United States in 1860. [7] She was listed as a 23 year old female in the household of Charles F. Hubbard on the 1860 census.

She married Frederick Kocherhans on 10 Aug 1864 in Indiana. [8–9]

She lived in Anderson Township, Warrick, Indiana, United States in 1870. [10] A Mariah was lised as a 35 year old female in the household of Fred Cockerins on the 1870 census.

Minerva lived in Boon Township, Warrick, Indiana, United States in 1880. [11] She was listed as a 44 year old female in the household of Fred Kocherhans on the 1880 census.

She lived in Ohio Township, Warrick, Indiana, United States in 1900. [12] She was listed as the 62 year old wife of Fred Kocherhaus on the 1900 census.

She died on 3 Dec 1908 at the age of 71 in Warrick County, Indiana. [1–2]

Minerva was buried on 5 Dec 1908 at Sharon Cemetery in Newburgh, Warrick, Indiana, United States. [1–2]

Minerva Bullock ENDNOTES:

1. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com : viewed online 3 June 2023), memorial for Frederick Kocherhaus (1831-1904), Find a Grave Memorial no. 36805283, created by ladyN70, citing Sharon Cemetery, Newburgh, Warick County, Indiana; accompanying photograph by ladyN70, Frederick Kocherhaus.

2. Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2017, Manervia Kocherhans, 3 December 1908; database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 3 June 2023).

3. “Indiana, Select Marriages Index, 1748-1993,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 3 June 2023), Minerva Bullock.

4. “Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001,” database, Ancestry,  (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 28 May 2023), Charles Hubbard.

5. “Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019,” database with images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org : viewed online 28 May 2023), Charles Hubbard.

6. “Indiana, Select Marriages Index, 1748-1993,” database Charles Hubbard / Minerva Boyer.

7. 1860 U.S. Census, Warrick County, Indiana, population schedule, Anderson Township, Warrick County, Indiana, page 142, Image 10 of 20, family 1047, Charles F Hubbard; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 28 May 2023)

8. “Indiana, Marriages, 1810-2001,” database Frederick Kocherhans.

9. “Indiana, Select Marriages Index, 1748-1993,” database Fredrich Kocherhaus.

10. 1870 U.S. Census, Warrick County, Indiana, population schedule, Anderson Township, Warrick County, Indiana, page 22, Image 22 of 22, family 167, Fred Cockerins; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 4 June 2023)

11. 1880 U.S. Census, Warrick County, Indiana, population schedule, Boon Township, Warrick County, Indiana, ED 57, page 43, Image 43 of 75, family 348, Freaderick Kocherhans; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 3 June 2023)

12. 1900 U.S. Census, Warrick County, Indiana, population schedule, Ohio Township, Warrick County, Indiana, ED 154, Sheet 4B, Image 8 of 20, family 84, Freddy Kocherhans; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 3 June 2023)