Genealogy Jottings

As I have worked on my Sherman line, I have spent a lot of time chasing down my ancestor Thomas Sherman’s elder brother, Anderson (1832-1910). Because of difficulty in researching such a common surname as Sherman, which the brothers shared with a couple of famous Civil War general officers including one named Thomas, searching for an unusual name combination like “Anderson Sherman” has proven easier than searching for my own Thomas. An added distinguishing bonus is the brothers’ blacksmith profession. Uncovering Anderson’s life has helped me shed light on Thomas’ life.

Yet Anderson has presented me with a conundrum. How did he free himself to marry a second wife?

I have prepared a short timeline of his life to help me sort this out:

1. 1832—Anderson Sherman born in Bath County, KY.
2. 1854—Anderson Sherman marries Sarah Jane Prewitt (1838-1907) in Madison County, KY.
3. 1858—Anderson Sherman resides in Johnson County, IN.
4. 1860—Anderson Sherman resides in Brown County, IN.
5. 1863—Anderson and Thomas Sherman register together for the Civil War draft in Johnson County, IN.
6. 1870—Anderson Sherman works as a blacksmith in Johnson County, IN.
7. 1874—Anderson Sherman works as a blacksmith in Johnson County, IN.
8. 1876—Anderson and Sarah Jane’s last child, Minnie, is born in Johnson County, IN.
9. 1880—Sarah Jane Sherman, widow, lives in Johnson County, IN. Anderson Sherman, widowed, lives in Edgar County, IL. Huh?
10. 1882—Anderson Sherman marries his brother Jasper’s widow, Armecia, in Edgar County, IL.
11. 1884—Anderson Sherman of Edgar County, IL applies for a Civil War pension based on his service as a blacksmith.
12. 1889—Twins Maud and Claud Sherman born to Anderson and Armecia Sherman in IL.
13. 1900—Anderson Sherman works as a blacksmith in Saline County, MO.
14. 1910—Anderson Sherman, local blacksmith, dies at Saline County, MO and is buried at Antioch Cemetery in Liberty Township.
15. 1912—Thomas Sherman’s obituary lists Anderson Sherman of Missouri as a survivor.

Again I ask, how did Anderson and Sarah Jane’s marriage end? He left Indiana sometime between the birth of their youngest child in 1876 and his enumeration on the Illinois census in 1880. His wife held herself out as a widow that year.

At least one person has taken her at her word and built a FindAGrave memorial for Anderson in the Nineveh, IN cemetery showing an 1880 death date. The cemetery has no record of this interment. I suggest that is because he did not die that year, nor was he ever buried there. Sometime before 1880, he left Indiana for Illinois and ultimately Missouri, where he died in 1910.

I thought perhaps Anderson and Sarah Jane actually divorced and simply claimed widowhood to avoid social stigma. Unfortunately, the Johnson County, IN courthouse has no record of such a divorce. So did Anderson simply desert his wife and eight children in Indiana to start a new life in Illinois between 1876 and 1880? I can find no other explanation.

Anderson is not my direct ancestor, so I will not pursue this question any further for the time being. But if any of his descendants (he had eleven children) have an explanation, I would like to hear it.