George Poland, my 2x great grandfather.
George was born January 1, 1847 in Marion County, Indiana to Nicholas and Elizabeth(Brassfield) Poland. He was raised on the family farm in Wayne Township, Marion County, Indiana with his 11 other siblings. Sadly, 6 of George's siblings all died very young as was the terrible trend in those days.
George married Mary Murrell on September 15,1869 and began raising his own family. He and Mary had 5 boys and 1 girl before Mary gave birth to their last child (a son named Albert). Mary gave birth to Albert on January 27, 1883 and then died February 9, 1883 presumably due to complications giving birth. Poor little Albert didn't stand a chance, as he died March 17, 1883.
George never re-married after losing Mary. Instead, he raised his 6 children alone. When Mary died, the children were the following ages:
- Harry 13
- Margaret "Maggie" 11
- Fred 9
- Charles 7
- John 5
- Frank 3
As an adult, George worked as a day laborer and Teamster before running his own livery sometime between 1880 and 1898. In the the 1898 city directory for Indianapolis, he is listed as running a livery at 208 W Maryland called "George Poland & Son". He appears to have remained in the livery business right up until his death in 1910.
The loss of Mary had a profound effect on the family. George himself had some run-ins with the law. In 1884, George was arrested for shooting a young man who was paying too much attention to his niece Mary Poland (who was working for her uncle George as a housekeeper). Here are the newspaper articles I found on the shooting:
In 1895, George was busted for running an illegal poker game at his livery stable and in 1896, a Mr. Herman Syrup sued George for damages. I have yet to find how these cases turned out, but I'm still searching!
Each of George and Mary's remaining children reached adulthood, married and had their own children. Life was challenging at best and tragic for some.
Harry (1870-1929)
Harry (the oldest) married at the age of 24 to Katie Keaney and had 3 children. Harry was a farmer and did fairly well for himself. He and Kate moved to Brown County, Indiana where the owned their own farm. Harry lived to be 59 years old and seems to have been relatively unscathed by the trauma. At least, no documentary evidence has been found. I'm sure he had his own struggles though.
Maggie(1872-1930)
Maggie married John Vanderman in 1891 when she was 19 and had 3 children. Unfortunately, John died just 14 years later when he was 43 years old of something called locomotor ataxia which is defined as "the inability to precisely control one's own bodily movements" and is thought to be caused by "damage to a part of the brain known as the cerebellum, but it can also be caused by damage to the spinal cord or other nerves". The fact that John was listed as retired when he died in 1905 at the age of 43, leads me to believe that he likely had his condition for some time prior to his death; which would have made life difficult for Maggie and her family. 5 years after John's death, Maggie remarried a man by the name of Otis Rutledge. When Maggie died in 1930 (prior to Otis) she was buried with John, but 6 months later Otis went to court to try to have her moved. The court denied his petition.
Fred(1874-1902)
Fred has a tragic story. He marries Isabella Brock in 1893 when he's 18 years old. 4 years later, they have a son named Carl and in 1900 we find the small family living in Indianapolis. Fred is working as a Stock Dealer and renting a house.
In November of 1900, Fred and Belle are involved in an accident where their carriage is struck by a street car causing them to be thrown from their carriage. Belle was thrown over the dashboard and hit her head and back on the curb, but recovered.
In 1901, Fred and his business partner filed suit against a Mr. Parrish whom they had purchased livery stable and coal and coke business from. Apparently, the contract stated that Mr. Parrish was not to start another similar business, but he did so right across the street and stole many of Fred's customers.
In 1902, Fred's barn burned to the ground, his case against Mr. Parrish is dismissed, and he was arrested for selling a bad horse. With all this going on, Fred is also dealing with an abscess in his head (from the buggy accident I wonder?). In August of 1902, Fred shoots himself in the head. The bullet entered the head behind his right ear, but grazed the skull without penetrating it. Fred eventually dies from his gunshot wound in October of 1902 at the age of 28.
Fred's wife Belle remarries and begins running a rooming house. At the age of 47, one of her residents murders her on Christmas day due to an ongoing argument they had been having.
The next year, Fred and Belle's only child Carl, dies at the age of 36 from pneumonia.
Charles(1876-1911)
Charles is my great grandfather and he has a tragic story as well. Please see the separate post written for the story of Charles.
John(1878-1953)
John lived to be 74. He married Emma Davis in 1912 when he was 33. No children have been found for this couple. John worked as a bar tender in a Saloon, a street car motorman, and eventually worked in the grocery business.
Frank(1880-1954)
In 1910, we find Frank as a 29 year old single man living with his sister Maggie and her family (dad George is also living with them). Frank is working as a salesman in a grocery store. Some time before 1920, Frank marries a lady by the name of Undine Sisco. Unfortunately, Undine passes away in 1927. Frank remarries in 1929 to Jennie Kirkpatrick. In 1930, Frank and Jennie own a farm in Brown County, Indiana. In 1940, we find Frank and Jennie back in Indianapolis. Frank is back to being a salesman (industry unknown).