I may have found Wesley B. Kerlin. In Abilene, Texas, of all places. Seemingly the family scout, the first to leave Mount Pleasant in the 1830′s for Louisville, he disappears about 1850- 1860.
A bricklayer who owned slaves in Kentucky, I find a Westby ( Wes B. ?) Kerlin, bricklayer, in Abilene, City Directory, 1870.
Be it known to you that I have been in Gomer and no mistake.
Having just heard about Virginia Carbis, I redid my searches, checked old maps and found that Virgina Burd, Mary Ann Carbis and Pauline Carbis Gelstin always lived next door to each other.
I find them lined up in a row in the 1870 Census of Pittsburgh, and then again in the census of 1900, in New Derry. Neighbors, Mary Ann is living with Pauline. 78 years old, she tells the census taker that she bore 9 children, three are still alive.
I have always had very serious doubts about Harry J. Carbis, but it seems that he, Pauline Gelstin and Virginia Burd might be the last surviving children of Mary Ann Logan and Samuel Carbis.
You know, it seems that no one can spell their name correctly. I find them in the 1840 census of Pittsburgh and again in the 1870 census. At some point between 1872 and 1880, Samuel Carbis dies.
I have done searches on their neighbors from both 1840 and 1870, but can find nothing. 1840 strikes me as a *starter* house, the place in 1870 as somewhere that they can give the girls a place next to them.
I cannot find them between 1840 and 1870, the years during which Mary Ann Logan will have those 9 children. One of them being my Maggie.
How many ways are there to spell Carbis wrong ?
One can imagine how I felt when I read this.
A quick check of the 1870 census for Virginia Burd puts her living right next door to Pauline Gelstin- a daughter of Samuel Carbis and Mary Ann Logan- who in turn lives right next door to, yep, Samuel Carbis and Mary Ann, where my seemingly orphaned G.G.Grandfather is being raised as a Carbis.
The photo of Virginia would be a photo of the sister of my illusive Maggie Carbis. Wouldn’t I just pass stones to see it ?
All of this started from a simple Google search : Carbis Steamboat
And how I felt when I read this : Her dark hair and high cheekbones attested to the fact that her maternal grandfather was a full-blooded Tuscarora Indian.
Uh, her mother’s name was Mary Ann Logan. Well, I guess I’ll have to check that story out.
But my Kerlin’s are very dark eyed and haired…
Joseph Gill + John Watson Admts of Robert Kerlin
Petition to Sell-
On motion and it appearing to the Court that repeated attempts have been made to sell the real estate mentioned in the petition and that the same remains unsold. Ordered that the Administrators sell said property at public sale provided that it shall not be sold for less than three hundred dollars.
Joseph Gill + John Watson Admts of Robert Kerlin dec.d
On Motion of D.L. Collier Esquire ordered that the ( defend-crossed out) Administrators have further time for one year to settle.
Joseph Gill + John Watson, Administrators of Robert Kerlin.
Petition for authority to sell land. The appraisers appointed at the last term of this Court, to appraise the real estate mentioned in the petition, have this day made return of their appraisement from which it appears that said land is appraised at seven hundred and fifty five dollara and fifty six cents. ( Ordered – crossed out) it also appear from said return that ( said- crossed out) the widows dower in the premises has been set off to her according to law. Ordered that said administrators proceed to sell said property according to law-
December Term 1823
Joseph Gill + John Watson Administration of Robert Kirlen dec.d present their petition shewing that the personal estate of the said Robert Dec.d is insufficient to pay the debts against the estate shewing also that dec.d died siezed of certain ( real eastate- crossed out) track of land in the County of Jefferson + praying the authority of this Court to sell said real estate according to the statute in such case made + provided- Whereupon it is ordered that Joseph Steer, Nathan Lupton + Samuel Crothers be and they are hereby appointed appraisers of said estate to report to this Court at the next term-
I stumbled upon this today :
Kerlin, O. B. (Grocer) Fourth Above North, Steubenville, OH (Morgan#9547)
Citation: Steubenville. Directory. Steubenville Business and Local Dir
(Steubenville, 1850) Page 33. O. B. Kerlin
Kerlin, R. A. (Tailor) Fourth Above North, Steubenville, OH (Morgan#9547)
Citation: Steubenville. Directory. Steubenville Business and Local Dir
(Steubenville, 1850) Page 33. R. A. Kerlin
Kerlin, William B. (Merchant) Fourth Below Market, Steubenville, OH
(Morgan#9547) Citation: Steubenville. Directory. Steubenville Business and
Local Dir (Steubenville, 1850) Page 33. William B. Kerlin
Which only serves to make me even more curious as to what the relationship with my Kerlins was to William B. After all, Robert A. had his place of business next to O.B. ( son of William B.).
The 1810 Winchester census suggests that a lot more people were living at Robert ‘s home then just his wife and children : by 1810, he was married for 11 years. And yet there is a boy between 16 and 26 in his home, as well as a girl in the same age bracket. And a man over 45 ( not him). And the boy wasn’t William . Born in 1802, he could be one of the two under 10 boys listed.
As Robert A. was born in 1812 and Henry in 1816, I have no idea who the two young boys are : William B. and Wesley B. ?
The younger girl listed ( under 10) might be Eliza B. : she would have been 2 at the time. She will die the same year as Robert – 1823- and be buried in the family plot in Ohio.
Unlike Robert.
In the end, I’m not even 100% sure that Robert was the father of Robert A. and Henry. I am only sure of who their mother was, thanks to her will, which only mentions Robert and Henry. Not a word about any William B.
For a very long time- oh, some where between 6 months and a year- I have been trying to track down either the man or the book that he wrote, which – rumor had it-goes into some detail about the Kerlins. He caught my attention in that he is the only person I have ever found who refers to a Robert Kerlin being down in VA in the late 1700′s, early 1800′s. I even ended up exchanging letters with a cousin of his. But I could never find a copy of his book, to warm my greedy little hands, and the letter that I sent to him this past summer was returned to sender.
That’s me.
And then, today, quite by accident, I found his whole book on line here.
As I went through the pages, filling my eyes, I realised that he bases Robert being in that particular family group by mere proximity. I would as well, if I didn’t find myself in Ohio, about 20 years after that marriage, wondering who the bleep William B. Kerlin ( b. ca 1802) was, who Wesley Kerlin was, and why all of the Kerlin men are running over to Louisville from the 1830′s on.
In theory, William should be Robert’s son. But Hannah does not mention him in her will, only Robert A. and Henry T.
Who then is William, besides being a very close friend of the family ?
And who is the Henry that everyone is name after ? Robert A. and Jane name their children after members of their family. Hannah seems to have done the same thing.
So, where is the original Henry. Is it like O.B. Kerlin, who always went by his middle name, Benton ?
I become more and more convinced that the answers can only be found in situ, in VA.