by Stephen M. Lawson - Kinnexions.com
In the
The Backtracker for December 2001 was
an article about "A Brief Encounter with the Horstman Family of Port
Orchard," presenting information on the family gathered from the
resources available in the PSGS Research Library. The focus was on the
family of William and Carrie [Moore] Horstman, and his parents
August and Mary Ann [Rossiter] Horstman. The record for the second
marriage of Mary Ann identified her parents as Samuel Rossiter and Mary
Bly. No further information was found for Mary Ann [Rossiter] Horstman
Baker, but it was conjectured that she may have been the Mary Baker who
died in Tacoma in 1927. However, the Death Certificate for Mary Baker
of Tacoma revealed that this conjecture was in error.
The Horstman article was placed on the Kinnexions.com web site [see Dec
2001 article above], together with the family information
available. In April 2002, an email was received from Daniel W. Bly,
which began: “I happened upon your Haller-Rossiter web site and was
especially excited to find a reference to Mary Bly -- Your information
solved a problem for me. I have record of Mary Bly marrying Valentine
Miller in Harrison County, Indiana 1 May 1845, but I could find no
record of them in the 1850 census. Once I found your web site, I
rechecked Indiana marriages and found marriage of Samuel Rossiter to
Mary Miller, 11 July 1848." The 1850 census for Mary Bly was included
in the Backtracker article. She had married second Samuel Rossiter and
their first child was Mary Ann. Dan had published
A HISTORY OF THE BLY FAMILY (Baltimore, 1992) ISBN 91-78386, which includes six generations of Mary (Bly) Miller Rossiter's ancestry.
Extensive Rossiter family information was discovered and shared between
Dan Bly and this compiler over the next year. Mary Ann had lived in IN,
KS, IA, NE, MO and WA since 1860, and other family members were
located in ID, OR, PA and WY, also. Then in mid-March 2003, Dan
advised that he had found the 1910 census record for August Horstman
and Mary Ann Horstman -- they resided at the Washington Veterans’ Home
(WVH hereafter), Port Orchard, Kitsap County, Washington.
The Inmates' Record at the WVH included August Horstman and wife,
who entered the home on March 21, 1910. The record included
information correcting and expanding the Civil War service record for
August Horstman, and permitting the ordering of his pension file from
the National Archives. The file arrived in mid-May, with a surprising
cover sheet: File 973254 was for "Pensioner Mary A. Wilber former widow
of veteran August Horstman." Obviously, another visit to the WVH
was in order.
Over the next few days, much information was gleaned from the WVH
records. Mary Ann [Rossiter] Horstman Baker Wilber had lived at the
Home from March 1910 to July 1910 and again from October 1915 to
April 1931. Her husbands, August Horstman, Joseph Baker and
Walter Wilber were also residents of the Home. The following records
were located: File Cards for August Horstman and Mary A. Horstman.
Inmates' Records for August Horstman, Mary A. Horstman, Joseph Baker
(two records), Mary A. Baker Wilber, and Walter Wilber. Death Records
for Joseph Baker, Walter Wilber and Mary A. Wilbur. Cemetery Records
(computerized) for Joseph Baker, Walter Wilber and Mary A. Wilbur.
The Inmates' Record book includes name, age, residence, nativity,
occupation, War record (enlisted, discharged, Company and Regiment),
pension, and Home record (admission, discharge, death, cause, remarks).
The Death Record includes some repeat information and adds length of
residence at the Home, and burial place. If burial was in the WVH
Cemetery, the Cemetery Record may identify the section and lot. The
Cemetery sections and lots were re-numbered sometime after 1931, so the
Cemetery Records, with the new numbers, differ from earlier records.
But a Cemetery map is available numbered in agreement with the Cemetery
Record. The File Cards are a summary of basic data from the other
records.
Of course, even the wealth of information obtained from the WVH records
did not fully satisfy the desire for information about Mary Ann
[Rossiter] Horstman Baker Wilber. So, at the end of May, a trip
was made from Port Orchard all the way north to Poulsbo to visit
the PSGS Research Library (which was formerly two blocks from the
compiler’s home). Here the 1910 census record was read from microfilm
(Dan Bly had provided a summary), the Washington Death Index microfilm
provided confirmation of the death dates for Mary and her last
two husbands, and the 1995 PSGS publication
KITSAP COUNTY, WASHINGTON PROBATE INDEX 1861-1944
revealed that there was Probate No. 3857, dated April 29, 1931,
for Mary A. Wilber. The Death Certificate for Mary A. Wilber was
ordered through VitalChek on the web. The next trip seeking records
would only be two blocks from home -- the Kitsap County Courthouse at
Port Orchard.
At the Office of the Clerk of the Kitsap County Superior Court, the
microfilmed Probate File 3857 included twenty-eight pages of documents,
with about half of them very difficult reading, including the
Will of Mary A. Wilber. However, a number of significant
documents were readable, including the Petition for Probate, Tax
Certificate, Final Account and Petition for Distribution, and Order
Approving Final Account and of Distribution. At the Kitsap County
Auditor’s Office, it took all of about twenty minutes to obtain a copy
of the Marriage Certificate for Mary Baker and Walter Wilber.
The large volume of information compiled prohibits a detailed
presentation, but a time line summary and family group report will
follow. Even with all the material, or perhaps because of it, there
still remain many questions. Why were August Horstman and Mrs. Mary
A. Horstman re-married Mar. 20, 1901 in Jackson County, Missouri,
when they had been married April 25, 1867 at Olathe, Johnson County,
Kansas (Pension File)? Why was the recording of the 1901 marriage
delayed until 1911 (Pension File)? Where is grave of Joseph Baker (WVH
Cemetery Record)? Who was Walter Wilber’s first wife; any children (WVH
Inmates' Record)? Why was Mary Wilber at Kirkland, Washington when she
broke her leg in 1931 (Death Certificate)?
And then there are questions concerning Mary’s two youngest sons, Bert
and August. Bert is called "mentally incompetent" in the 1931
Probate File, but in the 1910 census he was single and a school
teacher, and on June 29, 1910 he married Rose Adelia Welch. What was he
doing living in Florida in 1931 when his brother August, living in
California, was advanced $200 "for the purpose of going to Larned,
Kansas and having Bert S. Horstman re-committed to the
asylum?" Did either Bert or August have families? But
that’s another story.