Notes for Francis Mendenhall

Notes for Francis Mendenhall

Francis and his family were mentioned in the 1850 census for District 52, Huntington Co., Indiana.
It mentioned Francis was 60 years old, occupation was a farmer, was born in North Carolina he could not read or write. It said the value of his property was $300.

Also mentioned:
Mary, age 59, born in North Carolina
Mahala, age 16, born in Indiana
Charles Taylor, age 22, occupation farmer, born in indiana, could not read or write
Mary A. Taylor, age 24, born in Indiana
Tamen?, age 2, born in Indiana
Francis H., age 1 month, born in Indiana

From the family notes of Kurt Otto Shelle, Jr.:

After his fathers' death, Francis apparently moved to Piney Grove Montly Meeting, Marlborough County, South Carolina together with his mother, Grandfather Mendenhall, maternal Grandparents, John and Molly Clark Thomas, and his siblings. This was about January 3, 1807. By December or January of 1808 he was back at the Springfield Monthly Meeting. On January 6, 1810 Francis was disowned by the Springfield Monthly Meeting for marrying "out of the unity", or marrying a non-Quaker. I can find no record of this marriage. However, there was a Mary Albertson who was also a member of the Springfield Monthly Meeting who had been disowned on December 2, 1809. From the references we have it appears she quit the Quakers. The Quakers did not believe in public marriages, only church weddings. A public (civil) marriage was grounds for being disowned. It appears that if the marriage in 1810 was to Mary Albertson it was done without the benefit of a civil ceremony or the Quakers.

We don't know when Francis came to Wayne County, Indiana. His oldest child, Asenath was born on October 15, 1813. His grandparents, John and Molly Clark Thomas, came to Wayne County, Indiana in September 1813. It is possible they came together. In any event, Francis and mary were married in a civil ceremony in Wayne County, Indiana on March 17, 1816. Why a second wedding, if indeed it was one, is not clear.

We don't know when Francis moved to Huntington County, Indiana, but it had to be some period of time prior to 1849. He may have homesteaded and those records are not kept in the county courthouse. The only real estate transaction we found involving Francis stated that Silas Mendenhall conveyed to Francis Menedenhall via warranty deed on June 13, 1833 for the sum of $200 30 acres in Section 29, Township 26, Range 9. Deed recorded March 4, 1854 in book J page 124. He may have purchased this prperty on a "land contract" and didn't pay off the balance until 1853. This land was in Jefferson Township near the village of Mt. Etna.

Francis and Mary were still farming this land in 1860 per the census. We found no record of their deaths in Huntington County. Either their deaths were not recroded (not uncommon at that time) or they spent their last years elsewhere, possibly with one of the children (not Joshua).