John Adam and Martha Jane Abe Infant Children 11-018

     There isn't much further I can expound upon these three children that has not already been provided in the post "John Adam Abe.....Family Man (part 2) 10-019". As I am trying to keep the information in some sort of order we will do a review of what we know of each. The records available will also be added under the "Sources" for your review.
     On (50)October 3, 1876, about 27 months after the death of his first wife Margaret, John Adam remarried to Martha Jane Moreland. Pieced together information shows that the couple had three children that died at birth or shortly thereafter.
     An initial clue to their existence was found at the Abe Cemetery. The right side of John and Martha's monument has three children recorded. To the right of the monument can be found four actual graves. All are marked with just a footstone style marker. The first marker has no inscription visible. This is believed to be the unnamed child of John Adam and his first wife Margaret. (Refer back to the post "Martha Ellen Abe 11-012" for further on this child. Next to this grave are three other markers with initials that match up with the names of the three children on the monument.
     The first born child to John Adam and Martha Jane was (13)"Our Babe". This child apparently died shortly after birth as no official name is listed on the stone or in records. (13)Birth and death on the stone are listed as 1877. (187)A birth record for Mineral County, West Virginia lists an "Abe, female" child born to Adam and Martha J. Abe in July 1877. No day is listed. A death record for the same "Not Named" child says the child died on July 19, 1877. The cause of death is listed as "unknown" so I believe the child's death was for some other reason other then "childbirth" or "stillborn" as are listed for other children in the same record. Death was most likely very soon after birth, with the child being unnamed.
     The second child of John and Martha is listed on the (13)monument as "Ella M". Birth and death on the stone is listed as 1878. No actual birth record has been found. The only record found is an (187)1878 death record where she is listed there as "Martha E.". The month and day in the record are unreadable but the year is 1878. Her cause of death is also listed as "unknown". *(see update below)
     The third child listed on the monument is named "Emma". She was the fourth child born to John and Martha in 1881. No birth records have been found for her. A (187)death record from Hampshire County, West Virginia and says she died on October 6, 1881 at the age of just over one month.  Her death cause is also listed as "not known". One confusing thing about this record is why the child was listed as born and died in Maryland and the death was recorded in West Virginia.
   


*UPDATE: (187)A birth record for for the second child, "Ella M." or "Martha E." has been found. The last name is misspelled as "Abbee". The birth is listed as September 1878 with no actual day.

John Adam Abe monument with four small stones to the right

Amanda Melvina (Abe) Largent 11-017

     Amanda Melvina Abe was born on October 18, 1872 according to her burial headstone. No actual birth records have been uncovered yet. Her (179)death record lists her age as thirty five which would make her birth year 1871 because she had not reached her birthday.... if the October 18 birth is correct. Her (180)marriage record lists her age as 24 in 1896 which would make her birth year as 1872. The (181)1900 census does list her birth as Oct. 1872.
          She was the fourth child of John Adam and Margaret G. (Fulk) Abe. All (17)(181)census records list her birth in West Virginia. The year before her birth her parents were (69)living in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland where her father was working for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Her (180)marriage record lists her birthplace as Berkley County, West Virginia. This would most likely have been been around Martinsburg, West Virginia. Her parents lived there a very short time while John Adam was working for the railroad. Her (179)death record says she was born in Mineral County, West Virginia so it is still uncertain exactly where she was born. When Amanda's mother dies in 1874 the family apparently moved back to Mineral County, West Virginia because in 1876, John Adam (50)remarried to a Martha Jane Moreland according to Allegany County marriage records in Cumberland, Maryland.
          On October 15, 1896 at the age of 24, Amanda (180)married to Charles Edward Largent of Hampshire County, West Virginia. At that time her (70)parents owned and operated a farm in Little Cacapon, Hampshire County, West Virginia. (181)Eight years after her birth, her father is farming along what is now Route 28 between Wiley Ford and Short Gap, West Virginia. The farm appears to be north of the Old Furnace Road, in the area of the what is now the Miltenberger Farm. The farm is two to three miles south of Cumberland, Maryland.
          Charles Edward Largent was born on February 4, 1871 to (182)John Ashby and Sarah E. (Deaver) Largent in Hampshire County, West Virginia.
          After their marriage, Amanda and Charles then moved to the Old Furnace Road in Mineral County, West Virginia. The (181)1900 Census shows the couple renting a house on or near the original Abe farm. Charles is listed as a farm laborer so he was working for someone else.
          (6)The couple did have five children but sadly both parents lived very short lives and they never saw them grow up. Amanda (179)died on September 26, 1907 just eight days after the (183)birth of a son, Clarence Edward Largent on September 18. She was thirty four years of age at that time. The cause of death is listed as Puerperal Fever.


The American Heritage Dictionary describes Puerperal Fever as "a systemic bactorial infection of the endometrium characterized by fever, rapid heartbeat, uterine tenderness and malodorous discharge, chiefly occuring in women after childbirth, usually as the result of unsterile obstetric procedures."


          Amanda was buried in the Abe Cemetery. Her husband, Charles died less than two years later on July 24, 1909 and was buried beside her. He was thirty eight years of age. His (184)cause of death is listed as Tuberculosis.
          The young children were all sent to live with other families. In 1910(185)Nora (the oldest) and Clarence (the newborn) are found living with their paternal grandparents who were still residing in Hampshire County, West Virginia. (186)Harry is living with John W. and Nancy E. Leatherman in Cabin Run, Mineral County, West Virginia. (186)Earl and Nellie Mae were taken in by Benjamin W. and Ida Smith also of Cabin Run.

Children of Amanda Melvina (Abe) and Charles Edward Largent:
     1. Nora Catherine (1897-1990)
     2. Nellie Mae (1899-?)
     3. Harry William (1902-?)
     4. Earl Daniel (1904-1970)
     5. Clarence Edward (1907-1957)

Isaac Franklin Abe 11-016

Isaac "Frank" Abe and A. J. "Bud" Whitacre

1st "Abe Reunion" July 15, 1950

     Issac Franklin "Frank" Abe was born the third child of John Adam and Margaret G. (Fulk) Abe. No birth record or birth certificate has been found, but other records give a few bits of information on his birth. The (17)1880 Census lists his age as 9 in June of that year. The (175)1910 Census lists his age as 39 in the month of April. In the (174)1900 Census says he was born in August of 1870. His (176)death certificate and the Register of Deaths for Hampshire County, WV lists his birthday as August 29, 1870. Both death records list the place of birth as Patterson Creek, WV which would be in the area of the Abe Farm where his father was raised. In the (69)1870 census his parents are living in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland one month before his birth so it is possible his mother was moved to the Abe Farm to have her child. The farm was only 9-10 miles away. John Adam was working for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the time so he would need help as Margaret neared the time to give birth.
     When John Adam left the railroad and started farming for a living and this would set the stage for Isaac's life in farming. His parents farmed for a while in Mineral County before purchasing a farm in the Little Cacapon area of Hampshire County.
     About 1893 Issac Franklin (174)married Margaret Arsylva Kerns. I haven't completely confirmed it yet but I believe her parents are Frederick (or Tedrick) L. and Mary E. Kerns who lived in the same area of Hampshire County. The (174)1900 Census says "Frank" and "Arsylva" have been married for seven years. At that time they are living in the household of John R. and Mary A. Burnside. The Burnsides are listed as in their 60's with no occupation and no children. Isaac is listed as a farmer so he is apparently operating the farm. By this time they have two daughters and two sons ranging from age 5 to 1. Later census records show him still on the farm so it seems he must have purchased the farm from the John Burnside.
     Isaac (174)(175)(177)lived and worked as a farmer in Hampshire County through at least 1920. In the (178)1930 Census he is living on a farm in Mineral County, West Virginia with his nephew Harry Whitacre and family. Arsilva is found (199)living with her daughter Ethel Grace (Abe) Kidwell in McClean, Fairfax County, Virginia.
     Margaret Arsilva died on February 18, 1948 and was buried in the Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery near Paw Paw, Hampshire County, West Virginia. Records found list her name as Margaret, Margaret A. or Arsilva. For some reason her headstone is engraved as "Arsilva J.".
     Isaac Franklin (176)passed away on May 16, 1961 at the age of 90. He died at Hampshire Memorial Hospital in Romney, West Virginia of Congestive Heart Failure. He had been living in the Levels, West Virginia area at that time. The person giving the information for the death certificate was a Charles Snyder. It is unknown which Charles Snyder this really is and if "Frank" was living with him. His niece was married to Charles Andrew Snyder and they had a son named Charles Leo.
     Isaac Franklin was also buried in the Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery near Paw Paw, Hampshire County, West Virginia. A son, John Franklin Abe, and a daughter Ada Elizabeth (Abe) Cowgill are also buried in the same cemetery.

Children of Isaac Franklin and Margaret Arsilva (Kerns) Abe:
     1. Ethel Grace (1894-1874)
     2. Ada Elizabeth (1895-1967)
     3. John Franklin (1897-1918)
     4. Ray Austin (1898-1959)
     5. Dennis Franklin (1900-1967)
     6. Edward Nicholas (1902-?)