Orsman Markham Biography

Biography for Orsman Markham (2^nd Great Grandfather)

Orsman’s signature from Salina Township book.[1]

Orsman was born in 1818 in Windsor, Broome, New York.[2] He died September 7, 1899 in Wallula, Leavenworth, Kansas at his son Henry’s house.[3] He was 82 years old and had been sick for six weeks. Orsman’s home for many years was in Fairmont, Leavenworth, Kansas. He is buried in Mount Muncie Cemetery in Leavenworth, Leavenworth, Kansas.[4]

Gravestone for Orsman and Mercy, from findagrave.com; also, on the stone are 2 of their grandchildren, Charles Markham (died in 1881 at age 4) and Bertel (died in 1889 at age 5), both children of their son Henry.

His parents are Joshua Markham and Anna Dowd. Joshua was born on April 8, 1789, in Tyringham, Berkshire, Massachusetts, and died May 9^th, 1878 in Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York. Anna was born April 11, 1794 in Connecticut and died April 14, 1876 in Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York.

Orsman and Mercy Merrill were married on February 14, 1841, in Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York.[5]

Orsman Markham and Mercy Merrill had the following children:

Solon Markham, born April 22, 1842, Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York; married Elizabeth Ann Gregg, 1869, Kansas; died June 20, 1922, Bourbon County, Kansas.
Eugene A. Markham, born July 22, 1844, Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York; married Sarah Jane Lee, October 22, 1865, Kansas, USA; died February 25, 1922, Hot Springs, Garland, Arkansas.
Ann Eliza Markham, born on May 13, 1848 in Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York. She died on June 2, 1850 at the age of 2, according to the Merrill Genealogy book (page 30). She is buried in Markham Cemetery in Dayton, New York.
Henry J. Markham, born May 4, 1850, Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York; married Emma Myers, December 29, 1870; died 1929, Monterey County, California.

Narrative:

Orsman was born in Windsor, Broome, New York. According to census records he could read and write. When his father, Joshua, decided to move his family to Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York (about 226 miles), Orsman and his brother, Henry, drove an ox cart to get there. Orsman was 15 at the time, this was in March, 1833.[6] He got married in Dayton and lived there until sometime between 1850 and 1855, when he moved to Salina, Kankakee, Illinois. He was Town Clerk in Dayton in 1848-1849.[7] He was also Town Clerk in Salina in 1855-1857.[8] In Salina he was also a teacher.[9]

He owned land in Dayton according to the 1850 Census, but no land records for this were found at the Cattaraugus County Clerk’s office. Perhaps this was land given to him by his father (or even father-in-law). He bought two tracts of 80 acres in Salina, both were mortgaged.[10]

From these land transactions in Salina, we can see that in 1854 he first bought 80 acres in section 1, township 31, range 10 for $100. Then he mortgaged this land for $306 for 6 months. Three years later he mortgaged this same land again, for $360 for one year. He sold this land in 1860 for $100.

He bought a second tract of 80 acres in STR 3-30-10 for $100 in 1857. Then he mortgaged this land for $145 for one year. He sold this land in 1858 for $1000.

In 1858 Orsman made another mortgage transaction. He mortgaged 5 horses, 11 cattle, a horse wagon with harnesses and a reaper and mower for $1200 to be paid in 6 months.[11]

There is no record found of default or any court records involving these land transactions or mortgages, so he must have paid them in full.

In 1859 Orsman moved his family to Kansas, in Turkey Creek, Bourbon County. He owned land according to the 1860 Census, but again no land records for this were found in the Bourbon County Clerk’s office. His son Solon did acquire land there, which is shown on an 1878 map (Section 21, Township 24, Range 22).[12] Perhaps this was originally Orsman’s land that he gave to his son, or maybe he had land nearby that was not recorded for some reason.

During the Civil War (1861-1865) Orsman was a sutler.[13] A sutler was a civilian who was authorized to operate a store on or near a military camp, post, or fort. He could sell goods and items that were not considered necessary or supplied by the army. Kansas was a Union state, fighting against the Confederates. Orsman would have been in Kansas when it became a state in 1861.

By 1865 they were in Leavenworth County, Kansas and by 1870 had settled in Fairmount. This was their home the rest of his life. Here he acquired 60 acres (section 12, township 10, range 22).[14]

In 1875 Orsman and Mercy mortgaged these 60 acres of land for $300 to Norman M. Allen. This was a 3 year mortgage at $100 per year. Norman lived in Cattaraugus County, NY, and is the lawyer that represented Orsman in the probate case against his brother, Henry J. Markham. Norman married Mercy’s sister, Huldah Merrill. So, he was her brother-in-law.[15] A newspaper real estate transfer posting shows Orsman being the recipient of these 60 acres in October, 1878, in a transfer from Israel Sheldon of Orange County, New Jersey.[16] The sale price was listed as $200. This may have been the result of paying off the 1875 mortgage, at the end of which Orsman would have owned the land free and clear. But it is not known why Sheldon is the person transferring the land.

Fairmount was started in 1864, its name came from being located on a fair mount of land. The village had a large cider mill and apple butter factory.[17] This may be why Orsman had so many apple and other fruit trees.

In 1870 Orsman was listed in a newspaper notice as being a “taker up” of a stray.[18] In 1876 he was appointed a Road Viewer for the county (this role was responsible for assessing and reporting damage to a road or to the land owner’s property next to a road, also to recommend new roads).[19] In January 1881 Orsman had a bay mare stolen.[20] In May 1886 Orsman was a juror for a murder trial.[21] He was a juror on another case again in Jan 1877[22] and was a grand juror for the U.S. District Court in Topeka in March 1878.[23] In June 1888 a mad dog went into Orsman’s house and bit him and his grandson. He had to kill the dog. He and his grandson had to go to Kansas City for medical treatment.[24]

In 1872 and 1873 they were on the delinquent taxes list for their 60 acres in Fairmount.[25]^,[26] There are no court records showing that their land was seized and sold, so they must have eventually paid the amount due or somehow worked it out with the County office.

Orsman’s father Joshua died intestate in May, 1878. The next month Orsman filed a court suit against his siblings concerning 100 acres of Joshua’s land.[27] The request was to have the land partitioned to the heirs. The Supreme Court of New York decided that the land could not be fairly partitioned and directed it to be sold. Orsman’s brother Henry bought this land for $3900 at auction in June of 1879.[28] There is no specific mention of how this money was split out to the 5 siblings, it may have been split evenly giving each of them $780. But there was another issue concerning money that Orsman owed Joshua’s estate.

The probate process went on for 12 years, being finalized in 1890. Henry was an Administrator. The final account of administration was in January of that year. Joshua’s inventory was valued at $2289.29. After considering bad debts and various expenses, the net to be distributed to the 5 siblings was $1070.82 or $214.36 each. Orsman owed the estate $245.62 from a loan he received from Joshua in April 16, 1872. Henry and his lawyer said that Orsman was “old”, “insolvent” and “no good”. And Orsman was in Kansas while Henry and the probate process was in New York. So, they ended up just saying that any additional money could not be collected from Orsman and they just called it even. What happened to the earlier $780 from the land sale is not mentioned in the probate documents.[29]

In March, 1898, Orsman’s house burned down along with their belongings. This must have been devastating to them.[30] It is not clear if they were able to rebuild their house. Orsman died a year later at the age of 81. No will has been found, so everything would have likely gone to his surviving wife, Mercy. Orsman had previously sold part of his land to his son Henry.

Orsman lived in the following places:

1818 – He was born in Windsor, Broome, New York.

1820 – The family remained in Windsor.[31]

1825 – Still in Windsor.[32]

1830 – Still in Windsor.[33]

1833 – Orsman and his brother Henry drove an ox cart from Windsor to Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York. Joshua moved the rest of his family to Dayton later in 1833.[34]

1835 – The family is in Dayton, Cattaraugus, New York.[35]

1840 – Still in Dayton.[36]

1850 – The family remained in Dayton.[37] He owns property valued at $1440 and is a farmer. This is from the census record; no land record has been found.

1855 – Orsman and his family had moved to Salina, Kankakee, Illinois.[38] The value of his livestock on the census is $200.

1859 – The family moved to Bourbon County, Kansas. The source of this date is from Orsman’s obituary, but it just says “came to Kansas in 1859”. They are on the Bourbon County census the next year.[39]

1860 – Orsman’s family is in Turkey Creek, Bourbon County, Kansas.[40] His value of Real Estate is $700 and Personal Estate is $800. This is from the census record; no land record has been found. He had 10 acres of improved land, 150 acres unimproved, 4 cows, 2 working oxen, 4 other cattle, and 8 pigs. The value of livestock is $180.

1865 – By this time the family had moved to Delaware, Leavenworth, Kansas.[41] There is no value of Real Estate, so they must not own the land they are living on. Personal Estate is valued at $500. The Kansas State Census record lists the location as Delaware Railroad land, with Delaware being the Post Office.

1870 – Orsman and his family are in Fairmount, Leavenworth, Kansas (his name is written as Oliver, which has been corrected on Ancestry.com). Their Real estate value is $4000 and Personal Estate is $400.[42] This is from the census record; no land record has been found. According to the Agriculture Schedule they had 120 acres (all improved), the farm was valued at $4000, the value of farm equipment was $75, 4 horses, 2 milk cows, 2 other cattle, 17 swine, the value of all livestock was $500, 2000 bushels of Indian corn and 200 bushels of oats.[43]

1875 – They are still in Fairmount, Leavenworth, Kansas, and living next to his son and daughter-in-law, Eugene and Sarah Jane. Their farm is valued at $100 and personal property at $150.[44]

1877 – Still in Fairmount. On a statistical roll for the Elk County, he had 40 acres of improved land, 12 acres fenced but not cultivated, 8 acres of rye, 35 acres of corn, 2 acres of Irish potatoes, 6 acres of Millet and Hungarian, 100 acres of old corn on hand, 12 acres of meadow, $40 of poultry and eggs sold during the year, 60 pounds of chess was made and 200 pounds of butter, 1 horse, 3 milk cows, 1 other cattle, 4 swine, 75 apple trees, 20 peach trees, 200 cherry trees, 1/3 acre of blackberries and ½ acre of strawberries.[45]

1880 – Still in Fairmount. Orsman was a farmer.[46] On the Agricultural Schedule he had 70 acres of improved land, 10 acres of improved meadow, the value of the farm was $4000, the value of farm equipment was $50, value of livestock $200, value of all farm produce $800, 2 horses, 3 milk cows, 2 other cattle, 150 pounds of butter were made, 11 swine, 9 poultry, 200 eggs, 40 acres of Indian corn, 2000 bushels of Indian corn, 2 acres of apple orchard, 100 apple trees, 50 bushels of apples, 2 acres of peaches, 100 peach trees, value orchard items produced was $40, 1/6 acre of grapes, 100 pounds of grapes sold.[47]

1885 – They remained in Fairmount. They lived next to his son, Henry, who they sold part of their land to in 1883.[48]

1895 – They were still in Fairmount. Orsman is listed as a farmer for his occupation, but what was written by the enumerator is not readable.[49]

1899 – Orsman died September 7, 1899 in Wallula, Leavenworth, Kansas at his son Henry’s house.[50]