#52Ancestors – No. 32 – Roswell Edward House

This post is number 32 in the series of the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge where a group of us blog about a different ancestor for each week of the year.  To learn more about the 52 Ancestor Challenge visit Amy Johnson’s site at Amy’s website.

Land records can provide clues to learn more about our ancestors.  The can provide dots to find missing family members listed on a deed, or shared plot lines between family members and even identify the girl next door who became the wife.  Land records can help us discover  how our families lived and even their daily activities.

I viewed the 1880 land records for my second great uncle, Roswell House.  Roswell is the son of Selah House, my third great grandfather.  Selah’s is mentioned #52ncestors – No. 20.   From the censuses, I know that Roswell was a farmer.  However, not all his land was in one spot.

Roswell had 100 acres split into three separate lots in Campbell Township, Warrick Co, Indiana.   I outlined Roswell’s lots in red to show on the map.  The two circled areas are 40 acres each, the rectangle area is 20 acres. The map below does not have a scale to determine distance.  As you can see, he land is spaced far apart.  As a farmer in 1880 he had to travel some distance to reach his property. All he had were horse drawn carriages to use to travel between lots.

He could have leased some land out to another farmer easing his burden.  According to the 1880 Census, two of his 10 children are working on the farm. The oldest, Emory, could be managing one of the lots. Managing three distanced lots would be akin to today’s project management skills.

Roswell House was born in 1836 in Ohio and lived most of his life in Warrick County.  He died in 1888.  He married late and when he passed away at 64, there were three children, ages 16 and under, living at home.  The youngest was eight years old.

Three lots belonging to Roswell House.

Three lots belonging to Roswell House.

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