Maume - Murphy - Helbert Family Group and Hannah Minerva Branson's two families

MO 1843-1927

MARY MAUME'S Line: Family Groups

My direct line:

Tho Maume & Eliz Gallagher

Mary Maume &  

John Helbert & H M Branson

Maud Hilbert & Ed Patterson

Related families:

John Maume &  

Mary Maume & Geo F Helbert

H M Branson & Perry Davis

Eva Helbert & John Wells

Chas Hilbert & Mayme Mounce

Mary Helbert & Geo Varble

Notes

Info on this family group is from Patrick Fennessy and Jack Maume.

• Tom Maume moved to Gortacurrig from the Mitchellstown area in the early 1820s, and married local girl Elizabeth Gallagher.
• Dau Mary Maume emigrated to America in 1850, arriving New York city. She was pregnant when she left Ireland, apparently unmarried.
• Son William Maume married in Ireland and also emigrated to America with his wife, possibly when she was pregnant. He served with Union forces in the Civil War, enlisting as a private in the Seventh Missouri Infantry. Listed as William B. Maum but his name may be indexed as "Maunre William."
• Son Garret Maume "remained on the farm with his brother John and, after his brother's death, maintained the farm for his sister-in-law and her young family," wrote Patrick Fennessy. Jack Maume says Garret never married and died at age 40.

Notes

Info on this family group is from Patrick Fennessy and Jack Maume.

1879-1880 Son Thomas "was imprisoned for his part in what is termed the Land War. A source of pride as you can imagine," as it made him a bit of a local hero after his release, writes Patrick Fennessy.

MARY MAUME's first child

Ireland 1820's > New York 1850

MARY MAUME, b 1822-1830 Gortacurrig, Kildorrery, county Cork, IRL, d shortly bef 10 Feb 1900 St. Louis, MO

Daughter of Thomas MAUME and Elizabeth GALLAGHER of county Cork, IRL

Child:

1. JOHN THOMAS [MURPHY, in 1870 census] [HELBERT, stepfather's surname], b June 1850 at sea, d 3 May 1913 Shannon Co, MO (buried near Ink, Shannon Co)
   m 19 Sep 1877 Osage Co MO: Hannah Minerva BRANSON

Notes

• Religion: Catholic. Her son converted in order to marry Hannah. So Mary and her parents are the only known Catholics among my ancestors since the late 1500s.
• Emigration, abt May 1850.
• Mary said her son was born on the ship. Later censuses show him as born in June 1850; that is the only record that dates Mary's arrival, as so far it has been impossible to identify the right Mary among NY arrivals. What name was she using? She reported herself to be widow of John Murphy who died at sea, crossing the Atlantic, May/June 1850, but no record of such a marriage is found. Believed to have borne the child out of wedlock, not fathered by a Murphy at all. But she probably arrived as Mary Murphy with infant. I do not find any Mary Maume in 1846-1852 NY arrivals. On the Shannon 9 Oct 1850 from Liverpool: Mary Murphy age 21 dressmaker & unnamed Murphy infant.

---

Notes

• Marriage record in St. Louis 1854 is for George Helwert and Mary Murphy.
• Census, 5 Sep 1860, Third Creek, Woollam PO, Gasconade, MO. Household #1541/1581. Geo 42 farmer b Hanover $150 $50. Mary 30 b Ireland. John 10 here says b MO. Charles 4, Nancy 2.
• MO State census, 1864, Gasconade, MO, Ref 34-15
• Occupation, 1868-1870, Gasconade, MO: county marriage records 1868 & 1870 show G.F. Hilbert as Justice of the Peace.
• Census, 11 Aug 1870, Third Creek, Woollam PO, Gasconade, MO. House #1386/Family #1360. Listed as "Hebert". Geo, farmer, age 54, b Hesse Darmstadt. Mary 45 b IRL, keeping house. Both can read and write. Charles 14 cannot write. Nancy 12 and Mary 10 cannot read or write. Julia 8. John Murphy 20. This is the only census that shows him called Murphy rather than Helbert. He can read and write; why weren't the other children educated?
• Mortgage, 23 Feb 1874, Third Creek, Boulware, Gasconade, MO. On this date GFH & Mary pledged their property to secure a loan of $200 for twelve months. It looks like school taxes were the cause.
• Census, 3-4 Jun 1880, Third Creek, Gasconade, MO. Household #31. G.F. Helbert age 62, he and both parents (not present, just reported) b Hesse. Mary age 58, she and both parents (ditto) b Ireland. Just two kids at home: Julia age 16 and Charles age 23 both b MO. "Julia" must be Ann. A line has been drawn through Charles's record.
• Burial permit issued in St. Louis MO for Mary Helbert, 130 N. Channing. Notice published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on 10 Feb 1900, so her death must have been just a few days earlier. Mary died of an abcess of the liver. The address is that of dau Annie, but we don't know what part of Mary's ten years of widowhood were spent with her daughter in the city.
• I located the homestead in Gasconade Co and visited the property. Location: #43 Sec 29 T43N R6W; I think that was s of US 50, e of CoRd A.

George's tombstone on their property is unclear: gives date of death 14 Feb 1890, age 72 or 77 years: second figure is hard to make out. 72 fits census record. The grave is a stone's throw north of the house. There is a second grave, and the stump of a cedar tree between the two. But the second grave is marked only by field stones. Both graves have head and foot markers. So there is no more info here on Mary Maume Murphy Helbert.

The house burned some years back and the land has not been farmed for a long time; it is a hilly property covered with trees. The current owner learned that during the Civil War, a German neighbor by the name of Budde was hanged by bushwhackers. The 1880 census shows the remaining family: Henriette Budde age 54, from Prussia, Wilhelm age 30, Lina 28, Freda 19. There were also Frank and Mathilda Steinbeck ages 39 and 29. Freda Budde would have been of an age to play with the Helbert kids.

Notes on children:

• Son Charles Edward Helbert: According to Uncle Charlie Hilbert (b 1881), Charles died at about age 21, unmarried. Velma (b 1906) never knew him. In the 1880 census, Charles is 23 - and able to read and write, so his schooling simply came late.
• Daughter Nancy Helbert b 1858 is not with her parents in the 1880 census when she would have been 22. We only know of her from the census. Strange because we knew of Charles' dying unmarried, knew of Annie in St. Louis, knew Mary married George Varble; it would seem we should know something of Nancy even if she had died young. The last notice is the 1870 census when she was 12. Will keep looking for a marriage record.
• Daughter Mary: There is a marriage record in Osage county for Mary Helbert and Henry C. McGinn 8 Feb 1880, but descendants only mention George Varble, and that is also the marriage my father knew of. In fact Mary is not with her parents in the June 1880 census. See below for her family with George Varble.
• Daughter Annie: Must be the girl listed as Julia. Annie never married; she lived in St. Louis. My aunt, Velma Patterson Kirby, knew her Aunt Annie (Helbert) and cared for her in St. Louis during her final illness ca 1933. Velma also knew John (Murphy) Helbert. She and Don both knew of Mary and George Varble.
• Census, 6 Jun 1900, St. Louis, MO. vol 99 ED 341 sheet 6 line 15. Annie reports birth Jun 1865, father b Germany, mother Ireland, can read & write, owns the house mortgaged. With 8 roomers; a saloon keeper, 2 bartenders, a porter, a barker. District 341 City of St. Louis, Twenty-Second Ward; 14th Precinct Bounded by Lindell Ave., Theresa Av. & Pine, Channing Ave, Laelede, Grand Ave, Blocks numbered 1953, 1954, 1956 to 1958. Annie's residence was 103 N. Channing, St. Louis, MO.

Notes

• Census, 14 Jul 1860, Crawford, Osage, MO. Household #703/666. CP Davis 23 farmer $400 $350, Manady 16, A Jackson 1. All b MO. Seems very odd to me that David Branson would "marry Hannah off" to an "older" man who wasn't better off than this record shows. 5 households later is sister Eliz married to F Owens who shows property of $2500 and $750.
• Census, 9 Jun 1870, Linnwood PO, Crawford, Osage, MO. Household #41/43. Perry E b MO farmer $2000 $500. Manerva 23 can't write. Jackson 10, Rebecca E 9 (looks like 4), Mary F 7, Martha B 5, Margaret 2. Perry's age was marked over several times, 30-something: 32, 33, 34, 35. Hannah Minerva is really 26, not 23; she wd've had her first child at 13 if this age were correct. Perhaps Perry's age was calculated from hers, that is, 10 yrs older?
• Census, 12 Jun 1880, Crawford, Osage, MO. John T. Helbert, age 30, wife 'Miniven' ? 35 or 36, Eva 1, Davis stepkids: Jackson 20, Mary 16, Martha 15, Margaret 12. Rebecca was already married.

Husband: Perry Davis

Perry's birth and parental info is from Bessie Van Tassel, whose husband descends from Perry. They are looking for their McKinney relatives. Please get in touch with her if you can help!

We always heard Perry was a widower when he married Hannah; he was always described as "a much older man" - perhaps Hannah's being so young makes even a fellow in his mid-20's "much older. " Some have called him "Commandant." ! others say early records show him as Commodore Perry Davis and C.P. Davis. He is said to have been in the Civil War, but the National Archives had no record. Perhaps MO militia?

Wife: Hannah Minerva Branson

• Second marriage: 19 Sep 1877 to John Thomas HILBERT (1850-1913)
• Third marriage: ca 1914 to Henry AMMERMAN (d bef 1920)
• A popular midwife.

There has been question abt Hannah's birthdate - and so abt the date of her mother's death. We were never sure if her mother died in childbirth or later; and if later, WHEN in the first year or two of Hannah's life. As for Hannah's age: her daughter Maude's birth certificate, vol 30 birth record, Hill Co TX, gives Maude's birth in Hillsboro at 6:00 pm 22 Jun 1885 as the 9th baby born to Hannah age 41 born Rolla MO. So Hannah would have been born in 1843, as here, not having yet reached her 42nd birthday. But the birth certificate was issued late; Don helped his mother obtain it.

We hear of her sending Jesse James packing from the Grovedale store - a favorite family tale, whatever the truth of it be. It seems agreed that she was handy with a gun or rifle. Also, Don remembers her smoking a corncob pipe. Shirley Hern provided the date of Hannah's marriage to John; I have not found the record.

Hannah used to visit her kids for a month at a time after she was widowed for the third time. That third marriage (his second) lasted only about a year and a half. She said this late-life marriage was her real love. She died while with Maude's family. Her funeral was at Kron Chapel, N. Grand Ave, St.Louis.

Children: Dates from Bessie Van Tassel, who also formalized the names we knew.

• Son Jack: census, 12 Jun 1880, Crawford, Osage, MO. Jackson Davis, age 20, laborer, living with his mother and stepfather. Charlie Hilbert reports kids Lucy, Thomas and John as being Jack's family with Sally Holland - seems switched around!
• Dau Rebekah Davis and spouse "Rolley" Branson. sources: Shannon Co MO history and Don Patterson, information given ca 1978.
• Dau Mary: census, 12 Jun 1880, Crawford, Osage, MO. Age 16, living with her mother & stepfather.
• Dau Martha: census, 12 Jun 1880, Crawford, Osage, MO. Age 15, living with her mother and stepfather.
• Dau Margaret: census, 12 Jun 1880, Crawford, Osage, MO, reported to be age 12.
• Census, 28 Jun 1900, Jackson, Maries, MO, age 20. Household #335/334. Wm b Feb 1864, Margaret b Jun 1870, Everet Oct 1886, Ora Feb 1890, John Sep 1891, Joseph Sep 1893, Bell Nov 1895, Oscar Feb 1897. Married 13 yrs, she has given birth to 7 children of whom 6 are living. Alternate birth date 1868.

Notes

Did they marry the same year Perry died - ? I don't have anything to document Perry's death. Hannah and John met when he came to try to buy her pigs at too low a price; she got on her horse as soon as he left and rode round to buy up all the hogs in the area, so that he had to come back and pay her price for all of them. Not a widow to be taken advantage of.

John was raised Catholic, but converted to the Protestant faith for Hannah; some say Presbyterian, some say Baptist.

• Census, 12 Jun 1880, Crawford, Osage, MO. John T. Helbert, age 30, wife 'Miniven' ? 35 or 36, Eva 1, Davis stepkids: Jackson 20, Mary 16, Martha 15, Margaret 12. Rebecca was already married. John reports his father b Ireland, mother's notation illegible.
• The family moved to Hill county TX by covered wagon in 1885 but returned the same year.
• They moved again to OK briefly - sometime between 1898 and 1903.
• Census, 7 Jun 1900, Sinkin & Timber PO, Newton, Shannon, MO. Household #131. John Hilbert age 49 b Jun 1850 at sea, parents b Ireland, Hannah age 55 b Aug 1844 MO, Charley b Jul 1881, G Maud b Jun 1885. Says MO but we know Maud was b TX. They've been married 23 yrs. Hannah has given birth to 9 children, 6 living. John is farming.

Notes on husband John Helbert / Hilbert

John was described as well-educated, and loved to read. He gave Velma books when she was young, classics that he wished her to read. John bought Clydesdales, and Hannah Minerva got angry that he spent 'her' money on them. Was that her inheritance? He bought a gramophone, and he and Frank traveled around giving shows with it. Family tradition has it that John established and was first postmaster of the office at Wells Ford (named for Johnny Wells's family), between Eminence and Salem. John did engage in many activities! When young, the census records say he operated a threshing machine. After marriage, he bought cattle and pigs, fattened them up and sold them, shipping them to St. Louis. Velma remembers him receiving government bulletins from Washington that he followed.

Note that John named his first son - Charles Edward - after his own younger (half) brother who had died before marrying.

Don remembers the grave from a visit to Aunt Eva when he was about 12. Maude cried because they didn't have enough money for a monument - there's only a stone. Don remembers a kind neighbor living near the cemetery: Maude Haverstick. In fact, Maude was a Patterson! She was Ed's first cousin, once removed: Ed's grandfather Patterson was her great-grandfather. She was also Don's first cousin, once removed, by descent from Hannah Minerva.

Notes on wife Hannah Minerva Branson

• First husband: Perry E. DAVIS (1836-1877) 28 Nov 1858, Osage, MO
• Third husband: Henry AMMERMAN ( -bef 1920) abt 1914
• Census, 15 Jan 1920, Newton, Shannon, MO. Widowed Hannah is with her daughter's family. Household #117. 'Eward' 33, wife Maud 33, Velma 13, Vernon 9, Donald 2. H M Ammerman, mother-in-law, 73, widowed. Ed owns his home, mortgaged.

Notes on children:

Son Frank Helbert b 1884 was said to have died age 17 but seems to have died before the Jun 1900 census. The family's move to OK should have been in the 1890s and he died on that trip.

Notes on Eva, Charlie and Maud are with their own family groups.

Notes

• Wife Eva: Census, 12 Jun 1880, Crawford, Osage, MO. Age 1 at last birthday.
• Census, 7 Jun 1900, Sinkin & Timber PO, Newton, Shannon, MO. Household #126. John, Eva here "Effie", Charlie & May. Married 4 yrs. She has had 2 children, both living, so Pearl was youngest and b aft 1900. Birthdates here are as in that census. I had had 1867 for John and 1876 for Eva. Previous household was Marion Wells age 28, alone. Next household is Wm Cox.
• Residence, 1917, Eminence, Shannon, MO

Notes on children:

• Charles William Wells: 1920 census, Newton township, Shannon, MO. Farmer on own account, in household of Isac and Lillie Spurgin.
• Mae Sigel Wells: 1920 census, at home age 20, bookkeeper at a lumber mill. Uncle Charlie Hilbert said May died early in life and left 3 daughters, all unmarried in 1961.
• Dewey Pearl Wells: 1920 census, Newton township, Shannon, MO. listed as Pearl, farmer for wages; in household of Isac and Lillie Spurgin as boarder.

I never knew Eva (she must have died before the mid-1950s) but my family sometimes met Pearl and Margaret and their kids. My father remembers visits to Johnny and Eva's farm when he was a child.

Property notes:

At some point Eva and John had a farm on the Little Piney, on the other side of Houston, MO. ('other' from Shannon county).

Shannon Co MO history, p174: 'In 1940 Wayne' (Blackwell) 'and Icelene' (nee Purcell) 'bought the John Wells' farm next to Pulltite Spring which they operated until they sold out to the Nat'l Park Service. Wayne and Icelene live on her family farm near Rector.'

Notes

• Census, 17 Jan 1920, Chicago, Cook, IL. ED 2152, Sheet 15A, Ward 34. Charles Hilbert 38, Mary 38, Alma 15, Mary 14, Buford 13?, Cliford 7? (hard to read). All b MO. Charles is a foreman at Western Electric.

Charlie bottled and sold a cure-all called 'Hilbert's Wonder Rub' made from a formula he got from John T. Helbert. It was a horse linament formula, according to his niece Velma. I remember seeing bottles of it at his sister's. Charlie wrote a family history late in life; it was a solo project ; he didn't tell his sister anything about it. It is written from memory, it seems, and is not documented, and has many inaccuracies of dates and family groups. However, for the most part the family tales he tells agree with others, notably the story of Hannah Minerva and John getting together. It is helpful for his own migrations; he went his own way, as his story shows. Charlie consistently wrote his last name 'Hilbert.' SS# 357-07-4174 issued IL.

Notes on children:

• Beuford Edward Hilbert:
  Applying for SS# (352-07-4331), he reported his birth in IL, and apparently gave his name with this spelling. His father has written 'Buford' and said he was born in St. Louis. SS record does not have a death location.
• Clifford Charles Hilbert:
• SS#352-07-4607 shows death benefit paid out in Dent Co MO. # issued in IL. As with his brother: his father says they were born in St. Louis, their SS records say they were born in IL. Clifford's Aunt Maude and cousin Velma remembered his wife's name as Mary Beth. Clifford's father Charlie doesn't mention that name. Error, or another marriage? Maude and Velma had excellent memories, so their notes are not easily dismissed.

Notes

• Census, 1910, St. Louis, MO. St Louis City ref 108 0435 0446. Jas E age 24 b MO, Maude age 23 b TX, 'Delina' age 3 b MO, 'Vernone ' b MO.
• Residence, abt 1913, Denver, CO.
  Velma remembers the family moving to Denver when she was abt 7 yrs old. Maude had TB, and the doctor thought that Denver's air offered her only hope. The family moved there by train, taking sandwiches for the journey, but moving with nothing other than their clothing. They must have stayed abt a year and a half or two years; Maude did recover, and they returned to MO.
• Residence, abt 1916, Rector, Shannon, MO
• Census, 15 Jan 1920, Newton, Shannon, MO. Household #117. 'Eward' 33, wife Maud 33, Velma 13, Vernon 9, Donald 2. H M Ammerman, mother-in-law, 73, widowed. Ed owns his home, mortgaged.
• Residence, 1921, Salem, Dent, MO
• Residence, abt 1923, St. Louis, MO

Velma said Ed had a brief marriage in the 1930s to a woman named Rose. Missouri records can't be searched by the public so with the date and county being unknown, I haven't obtained any information. I have no photos of Ed and Maud together; they were divorced long before my birth and we always saw them separately.

Notes on children:

• Velma moved to Chicago when she was 18 (so about 1924), and lived with her Uncle Charlie's family. She enjoyed being with her cousin Beulah, to whom she had always been close. She did well at work, and thought she had a good future there, but gave up her job and returned to St. Louis and her mother's house.
• Son Vernon's death date from SocSec Death Index. Vernon was mugged; brain damage resulted, and he was institutionalized for the rest of his life, in CA. We did not hear of his death.
• Son Don: see his page.

---

Notes

• This is the line of cousin Mary Brown, who has supplied much family information.
• Census, 3 Jun 1880, Third Creek, Gasconade, MO. Child Mary is not living with her parents; she's only about 13, so where is she?
• Census, 7 Jun 1900, Crawford, Osage, MO. Household #47. Mary b June 1861, age 38, widowed, has given birth to 5 kids all living. Geo H Mar 1888, Samuel J Mar 1890, Anna H Apr 1892, Xavier Jul 1895, Charles R Mar 1897. So some middle intials vary. She is farming. Two oldest kids listed as farmhands.
• Son George "Bird"'s gravestone says he was born 1886, differing from the early census record.
• Widow Mary Varble's later residence was Wellston, St. Louis, MO

See Don Patterson's page