John William Manning (1846-1888)

Sometimes things get twisted in your tree.  I mean, I can see how it happened.  A wrong assumption here and a minor mistake there and before long you have a very interesting twist in a branch of your tree.  Such are the cases of John William Mannin and his son, Robert Mannin*.

First, I need to go back to where I realized the problem. I was documenting the life of my second great grandfather, John William Manning. I knew that I didn’t have a lot about his life. He died early, at the age of 41.  I’ve researched him many times and I knew there isn’t much about him available. So, I verified what I did have and I decided to research his son, Robert Manning. That’s when I realized I had things wrong.  First about John William Manning

John was born between 29 August 1846 and 28 September 1846. We know this because he was 17 when he enlisted on 29 Aug 1963 for the Civil War and was 18 when he mustered on 28 Sept 1963[i]. His Father, Enoch Mannin (1823-1907) signed a parental consent for John to enlist on 29 August indicating that he was only 17[ii]. We also are fairly certain that he was the oldest of nine children of Enoch and Minerva Ann (Tolliver) Mannin. His Civil War record also indicates that he was born in Bath County, Kentucky. 

1850 – John W is 5 years old, living with Enoch (his father), Minerva (his mother) and apparently two siblings, Isaac Willson (age 4) and Nancy A. (age 10 months)[iii] in Bath County, Kentucky.

1860 – William is 15 years old, living with Enoch (his father) Minerva (his mother) and siblings Isaac – 12 (somewhat confusing as he was 4 in the previous census), Nancy – 10, Sarah – 5, Emaline – 4, and Grazelle – 2 in Bath County, Kentucky. Their post office was Owingsville.  Note he was called William in that census. He is also working as a farm hand.[iv]

1863 – John W enlisted at 17 into 45th Regiment of KY on 29 Aug 1863. His father, Enoch Mannin, gave his consent to enlist. He mustered with Company E, 40th (Kentucky) Infantry Regiment in September.

1864 – He was captured by Morgan in May or June of 1864[v]. He was held at Lebanon in July and August and mustered out on 30 December 1864[vi].

1868 – It appears that sometime in 1867 he met someone, probably married, and had a son, Robert, between 1868 and 1869. In a letter to me, Delores spoke of her uncle Bob Manning, her mother’s half brother[vii]. Also, Mary Manning Brown’s obituary speaks of her half brother preceding her[viii].

1870 – I have been unsuccessful finding John W Mannin in the 1870 Census. That census could be key in determining who Robert Mannin’s mother was.

1878 – John’s First Daughter, Mary Elizabeth Mannin, was born on 17 April in Carter County, Kentucky, USA, 

1880 – John was living in Pine Grove, Rowan County, Kentucky. He was a 34 year-old farmer. Rowan County borders Bath County and also borders Carter County where he enlisted for the Civil War, so his being in Rowan County is consistent with the rest of his life. The 1880 Census indicates him living with his wife Lisa J Mannin who was only 19 years old.  Also with them was a daughter, Mary Mannin, age 2. This begs the question, where is Robert?  He would have only been 12 in 1880.  Could this be the wrong John, Elisa, & Mary? 

1881 – The second big question about John’s life is the birth of his daughter, Phoebe Jane Mannin.  Phoebe appears in the 1900 Census as being born in January 1881.[ix]  

1882 – Some records indicate that John’s wife, Eliza, may have died in 1882.  Other documents indicate she may have died as late as 1888. 

1882-84 – Family oral history says that John was poisoned because someone knew he had $100 to send for Eliza’s keep.  Family oral history also indicated that Eliza died in childbirth.

Also, family oral history indicates that the children were raised by their aunt, Mary Ermaline (Mannin) Jones and uncle Thomas “Tommy” N Jones.  If this is true, it had to have occurred between 1882 and 1884.

1885 – Finally, we have a clear idea of where the children are.  John’s three children are living with his father, Enoch Mannin, in Holding, Stearns County, Minnesota.  Living with Enoch is his wife “Menorvi”, and three children, Robert, Mary, and Jane ages 16, 7, and 4[x] – These are the correct names and ages to have been John’s three children.

With so many conflicting stories regarding John William and Eliza J. (Fannin) Mannin, I felt it necessary to look at the three children of John & Eliza and see what I could find more. So, I decided to research John’s first child, Robert. I’ll write about my findings for Robert in my next posting.

Actions:  

* [Note: Mannin and Manning are used interchangeably in various documents depending upon the ear of whoever recorded the document. My use is also interchangeable. I tend to use the name used in a particular document to describe the individual.]

[i] American Civil War Soldiers (Historical Data Systems, comp.. American Civil War Soldiers [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.), Side served: Union; State served: Kentucky; Enlistment date: 29 Aug 1863.[ii] Compiled Military Service Record, Fold3, John W Mannin. Declaration of Recruit, Volunteer Enlistment[iii] 1850 United States Federal Census (A), Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, 1850; Census Place: Division 2, Bath, Kentucky; Roll: M432_191; Page: 36A; Image: 453.
[iv] 1860 United States Federal Census (A), Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, 1860; Bath, Kentucky; Roll: M653_355; Page: 234.
[v] Compiled Military Service Record, Fold3, John W Mannin. Co E, 40 Kentucky Inf.
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] Letters from Delores Pribbenow, Don Taylor, Maine, Letter – Delores Brown Pribbenow – 2005-04-04. I Delores Sarah Pribbenow – See https://goo.gl/8U6c1q
[viii] 1983-05-09 (Est) (Probably Brainerd Daily Paper) – Mary Brown, 107 dies at Bethany., Unknown Newspaper, Minnesota.
[ix] 1900 Census (A) (National Archives and Records Administration), Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, Year: 1900; Census Place: Wells, Wells, North Dakota; Roll: T623_1234; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 214.
[x] 1885 Minnesota, Territorial and State Census, Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, 1885 – Holding, Stearns County, Minn – Page 3 (Post Office: Saint Anna).

————-  I’ve used 23 & Me for my DNA Testing.  ————-