Osmun

My fifth-great-grandfather, John Osmun, was born in New Jersey on 30 August 1770. His parentage is unknown. Details of his early life cannot be found, due to the ambigious nature of early census records. What is known is that he was married to my fifth-great-grandmother, Rebecca Bellis, who was born in 1777.

In 1800, there was a John Osmun living in Morris and Sussex Counties, in New Jersey. This may have been him, as John and Rebecca's daughter, Elizabeth (born in 1806), was born in "Mansfield," which may be a reference to Mansfield Townhip, which was at the time located in Sussex County (it is now part of Warren County).

John died, aged 57, on 7 June 1828, in Macungie, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. In 1829, at the Orphans' Court proceedings, John is said to have left ten children, although only nine can be found. After John's death, guardians were named for the minor children: Jonas Faust was the guardian for daughters Abigail and Rebecca; Jacob Shuler, of Macungie Township, was the guardian for Catherine; and John Bellis, of Bethlehem Township, Northampton County, was the guardian for Sarah and William. It is possible that John was a relation of Rebecca; were they brother and sister?

Rebecca was living with her daughter, Abigail, in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County. She lived to a remarkable old age, as evidenced in the United States Federal Census (1860), which recorded 84-year-old Rebecca, disabled, living in the Lehigh County Almshouse, in South Whitehall Township.

John and Rebecca had nine children:

1. Samuel, born around 1797. He died 25 November 1836 in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. He married Maria Magdalena Miller, 27 August 1818, and had the following children: Reuben, Eli, Peter, John, Thomas (b. 31 March 1833) and Sarah.
2. John Jr.*
3. Elizabeth, born 10 March 1806. She died 15 February 1890 in Elwood, Will County, Illinois. She was first married to Joseph Rhdoes, 10 August 1827, and they had five children: Rebecca (b. 27 February 1829), Eli (b. 23 December 1830), Elovina (b. 1 September 1833), Sarah Ann (b. 2 December 1841), and Sophia (b. 20 December 1846.) Joseph died 22 August 1851 in Naperville. She then married Frederick Nehs, 26 September 1852.
4. Margaret, born 16 November 1808. She died 29 April 1898 in Chicago, Illinois. She married the Rev. Benjamin Franklin Deamer, and they had three children: Caroline (b. 2 January 1841), Solomon (b. 1843), and Catherine Amelia (b. 15 February 1845).
5. Abigail, born around 1811. She died 23 January 1890 in Naperville, Illinois. She married Solomon Drissler, around 1833, and had the following children: Rebecca Susanna (b. 28 January 1843), Mary E. (b. 28 August 1846), Milton F. (b. 9 December 1850), Ervie, and Howard.
6. Rebecca, born in 1813. She married Ruben Breifogle, 7 August 1831.
7. Sarah, born 1 February 1816. She died 5 January 1887. She was married to Daniel Gangewere, around 1840, and they had one son, Daniel Jr. She later married Nathan Sell, 29 December 1846.
8. Catherine, born 6 August 1818. She died 30 May 1897 in Allentown. She was married to Israel Trexler, 1838.
9. William, born 13 October 1821. He died 29 June 1898 in Allentown. He married Lovina Berndt.

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John Osmun Jr., my fourth-great-grandfather, was born 25 November 1803, also in New Jersey. He married Eliza Strauss on 23 August 1829, in Macungie. Eliza was born 15 August 1811, in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

The 1860 United States Federal Census (1860) listed John and "Eliz" Osmun as living in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania (post office being Rittersville). John had $200 in personal estate and his occupation was listed as "locktender." John is said to have also been a laborer, hotel keeper and book agent, as well as being the Coroner for Lehigh County from 1875 to 1878.

I could not find John or Eliza in the United States Federal Census from 1870 or 1880. John died, aged 80 years, on 19 June 1884, in Allentown, and was buried in the Union-West End Cemetery, Allentown.

I did find, in the City Directory for Easton, Pennsylvania (1884), an Eliza Osmun, a widow, boarding at The Arlington, a hotel. She died 28 June 1888, and was buried next to John.

John and Eliza had nine children:

1. Tilghman*
2. George W., born around 1836. He was a sailor in 1860.
3. Richard, born around 1842. He was a machinist in 1860. He drowned in the flood of 1862.
4. Andrew, born around 1843.
5. Rebecca, born around 1846. She married Milton Walt, of Allentown.
6. John J., born around 1847.
7. Eliza, born around 1849.
8. Jacob, born around 1855.
9. Isabella, born around 1859. She was unmarried at the time of her father's death.
10. Flora, married James Ross of Mauch Chunk (Jim Thorpe), Pennsylvania.

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Tilghman Osmun, my third-great-grandfather, was born 9 December 1832. He married his first wife, my third great-grandmother, Amelia (last name unknown). Amelia was born 30 May 1833. The United States Federal Census (1860) listed Tilghman as a tailor, and his family lived in Allentown, Third Ward. He owned $1,000 in real estate, and $200 in his personal estate. When Tilghman registered in the draft during the Civil War, he stated he was a 30-year-old man living in Allentown. Again, his occupation was listed as "Tailor." The United States Federal Census (1870) listed "Tilgh Osman" as a 37-year-old tailor with $11,000 in real estate and $6,000 in personal estate. Amelia died 3 May 1877.

He married his second wife, Mrs. Sarah Ann Merkel. Sarah was born 21 February 1847. Her maiden name is unknown, but she was the widow of Phaon Merkel, with whom she had one daughter, Amanda. The United States Federal Census (1880) listed Tilghman, again as a tailor, and Sarah, living with their children in Allentown. Sometime after this, within the next year, Tilghman purchased the farm of Jonas Musselman, of Quakertown.

Tilghman died 11 August 1884, in Quakertown, and was buried in the Union-West End Cemetery. Sarah remained in Quakertown, as shown in the United States Federal Census (1900), which listed a widowed Sarah living at 1325 West Broad Street, Quakertown with her 16-year-old granddaughter, Lottie Nagle. Sarah died 23 March 1901. The Quakertown Free Press reported the death of Sarah Osmun, widow of Tilghman, aged 54 years old. She was buried in the Union Cemetery, in Quakertown.

Tilghman and Amelia had four children:

1. Mary Jane*
2. Henry T., born in 1860. He died in 1940, and was buried in the Union-West End Cemetery, Allentown.  He was married to Kate Steinbach (1854-1937), and they had at least one daughter, Elizabeth Florence (1887-1918).
3. George, born around 1867.
4. Emma Matilda, born in October 1868. She married Henry Kemmerer Klein, 26 December 1891, and they had three children: J. Robert (b. December 1891), Herman Otto (b. April 1895), and Lillian Naomi (b. February 1898).

• Due to the large gap between the births of Henry and George, I would bet that there may have been a few children born to Tilghman and Amelia who died in infancy or early childhood (before the 1870 census).

Tilghman and Sarah did not have any children, biologically, but Tilghman did adopt Sarah's daughter from her first marriage:

1. Amanda, born 17 March 1866. She died 10 March 1905, and was buried in the Union Cemetery, Quakertown. She was married to Cyrus Nagel.

For more information on the continuation of the Osman family into the Weisbach family, please refer to the blog entry "Weisbach, Weissbach" (dated 22 December 2013).