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-?)

Lacy Ann (Abe) Whitacre 11-015

Alpheus Jerome and Lacy Ann (Abe) Whitacre

     Lacy Ann Abe was born the second child of John Adam and Margaret G. (Fulk) Abe. A birth record for her has not been found but we can find clues in a number of records to narrow it down. The (69)1870 Census lists her as one year old and living in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland. Her birth place was listed there as Maryland. All other (17)(167)(168)(169)(170)census records list her birth place as West Virginia. In (17)1880 she is eleven and living in the Frankfort District of Mineral County, West Virginia. The (167)1900 Census says she was born in April of 1869 and all others place the year at about 1869. The date of enumeration for the (170)1930 Census is April 24 and she has already passed her birthday so she was born somewhere in the first 23 days of April. The (6)"Abe Family Heritage" book puts her birthday as April 11, 1869. No other record has been found to give the exact day.
     Lacy's mother, Margaret (Fulk) Abe,  passed away on July 10, 1874 when Lacy was five years of age. Two years later her father remarried to Martha Jane Moreland. From this point on the family lived in Mineral County and Hampshire County, West Virginia.
     While in Hampshire County, Lacy Ann met and (172)married Alpheus Jerome "Bud" Whitacre on March 25, 1897. A. J. was (62)born near Okanoko, West Virginia on September 30, 1869. For several years they set up housekeeping in that area with farming as their living. (62)(172)Benjamin W. Smith (the minister who married them) had been holding church services at the Abe Schoolhouse on the Old Furnace Road since 1897. It was through this association that A. J. and Lacy Ann later moved to Mineral County where they set up a Sunday School Class in the schoolhouse. The book (62)"A History of the Church of the Brethren in the First District of West Virginia" says that they moved to Mineral County in November 1897 but the (167)1900 Census shows them still in Hampshire County. They are not shown in Mineral County until (168)1910 where the family is still farming for a living. (62)They would live and serve in this county for the rest of their lives.
     An official (62)church congregation was organized at the schoolhouse on August 10, 1912 and A. J. Whitacre was elected to the ministry. One year later the first church building was erected and became known as the Old Furnace Church, named after the iron furnace that sits across the road. Land for the church was donated by Jacob Abe, Lacy Ann's uncle. In 1916, A.J. was elected as an elder of the church.
     (62)The United Brethren Church near Wiley Ford, West Virginia was having problems since a fire destroyed the schoolhouse where services were being held. In 1924 A. J. sold his farm and moved there to begin a Sunday School. In April of 1927, A.J. was asked to take over the church congregation and served as pastor for a while. The congregation later became known as the Wiley Ford Church of the Brethren. Both A. J. and Lacy Ann served in the church until about 1936 when they moved in with their son, Jesse, in Short Gap, West Virginia. Three of their sons, Joseph, Jesse and Howard also served as ministers in Brethren churches during their lifetime.
     (173)About three years later Lacy Ann suffered a stroke. Five years after that, on December 8, 1944, she passed away of heart failure, after about 10 days with pneumonia. Alpheus Jerome (6)died on November 8, 1955. Both are buried at the Abe Cemetery.

Children of Alpheus Jerome and Lacy Ann (Abe) Whitacre:
     1. Elder Joseph E. (1898-1975)
     2. Daniel Earl (1899-1975)
     3. Anna B. (1900-1900)
     4. Rev. Jesse W. (1901-1995)
     5. Harry Wilber (1903-1981)
     6. Sussie (1905-1905)
     7. Rev. Howard Alphaeus (1906-1993)
     8. Bessie E. (1908-1908)
     9. Ezra E. (1912-1912)

Martha Ellen Abe 11-014

     Martha Ellen Abe was the (166)first child born to John Adam Abe and Margaret (Fulk) Abe. Mineral County West Virginia records list her birth as September 16, 1867.
     Her life was very short as she (166)died on May 25, 1868. The death record says nine months but a quick calculation shows her to be 8 months at the time of death. The cause of death is listed as "Fits" (now commonly known as seizures).
     Her burial place cannot be confirmed but a grave with a small unmarked stone is found beside her father in the Abe Cemetery.