Adeline Elizabeth Bryant Spence
Adeline and her husband were pioneer settlers in Jasper County, Missouri. Adeline came to the county from Indiana at the age of 10, but was originally from Virginia. Daniel and Lucy Bryant (who married in Franklin County, Virginia, on November 19, 1829) had moved their family from Virginia to Indiana when Adeline was five, and then five years later to Jasper County, Missouri, where Adeline would live the rest of her life.
Adeline was only fifteen when she married the love of her life--Lazarus Spence--on December 23, 1848, in Jasper County.
They established a farm on Jones Creek in 1850, next door to Adeline's parents, brother John Albert Bryant, and Wesley Key. After her father, Daniel, died in 1858, her mother Lucy came to live with Adeline and Lazarus, and would stay with them until her death, in 1903. They would live on the income from the farm and the work Lazarus would do as a blacksmith.
The Civil War years were frightening to residents of this area, on both sides of the conflict. There were divided sympathies between neighbors, and even within families. Property and life were not safe. Lazarus and Adeline had their share of fear, anger and determination during the early 1860's. Adeline's story to Ward L. Schrantz, the author of Jasper County, Missouri, in the Civil War is in his book on pages 56-58, and is beautifully told and written. Lazarus and Adeline were for the Union. They had to move away from the area to Fort Scott, Kansas, where Adeline's brother John A. Bryant was living, for a few years to save their lives and the lives of the children who lived with them.
Adeline and Lazarus had no biological children of their own, but adopted two orphaned little girls from a very young age in 1861--Martha Jane and Mary Elizabeth Vermillion. Their brother Jesse J. stayed with them for a while before moving on. In 1870 when they appear in the census living with Adeline, Jesse is 16, Mary Elizabeth is 12, and Martha Jane is 9. It was a full household that year--in addition to Lazarus, Adeline, her mother, their daughters, were William W. Key age 56, and Susan Key age 50.
Ten years later, it is a smaller household: Lazarus, Adeline, her mother Lucy, and hired hands Edward Briant (Bryant?), and James D. Defriest (Defries?). The farm continues to support them as they nourish it.
At the turn of the century, it is Lazarus, Adeline and Lucy, who is now 90, living together on a farm owned and free of a mortgage, and then in 1902 comes the death of her beloved Lazarus, followed by the death of her mother, Lucy, in 1903.
In the last 20 years of her life, Adeline's extended family lived with her--niece Lucy A. Blakely and Lucy's son Claude, and then later Lucy with nephew-in-law Edward Blakely. Claude and his wife lived next door.
As Adeline saw 1930 arrive, a caregiver, also a widow, Sarah Williams, lived with her.
When Adeline died in 1931 at the age of 97, a huge article appeared in the Carthage Evening Press on January 7, 1931, entitled "OLDEST RESIDENT IS DEAD". At the time, Adeline was the oldest settler of Jasper and of Newton counties. She died at her home. The article provided a great review of her life in the community, as well as her family.
In 1928, Adeline had made a will. In it she left $50 (a most princely sum at that time) to her 3 nieces and to Claude Blakely, with the balance of any estate to the children of Mary Elizabeth [Shafer] and Martha Jane [DeFries], "share and share alike".
Adeline stayed close to her nieces and nephews and to her adopted daughters. Martha Jane Vermillion (born October 1, 1860) married William Hastings DeFries on April 23, 1876, in Newton County. Her death came in 1915 in Oklahoma. Mary Elizabeth Vermillion (born March 3, 1858) married John Adams Shafer on June 24, 1877, also in Newton County. She lived nearby in the Joplin area, and died in 1926. Adeline had lived to see them both happily married, with families, and then sadly, to attend their funerals.
Surviving Adeline was her legacy--3 nieces, 10 grandchildren, 19 great-grandnieces and nephews, 27 great grandchildren, and 16 great-great grandchildren.
Note: Her first name as written on her marker--"Adline"--may be a nickname or a shortened version of her name. Historical records show "Adeline" most often, once as "Adaline".
Note: Adeline's researchers divide on the county of her birth--some record Cumberland, some Franklin.
Note: The marriage date for Adeline and Lazarus is recorded in Jasper County records as December 3, 1848. However, the record was not filed until February 26, 1849, so it is possibly in error, particularly as Adeline herself noted that she was married two days before Christmas.
~~mjp~~
Adeline and her husband were pioneer settlers in Jasper County, Missouri. Adeline came to the county from Indiana at the age of 10, but was originally from Virginia. Daniel and Lucy Bryant (who married in Franklin County, Virginia, on November 19, 1829) had moved their family from Virginia to Indiana when Adeline was five, and then five years later to Jasper County, Missouri, where Adeline would live the rest of her life.
Adeline was only fifteen when she married the love of her life--Lazarus Spence--on December 23, 1848, in Jasper County.
They established a farm on Jones Creek in 1850, next door to Adeline's parents, brother John Albert Bryant, and Wesley Key. After her father, Daniel, died in 1858, her mother Lucy came to live with Adeline and Lazarus, and would stay with them until her death, in 1903. They would live on the income from the farm and the work Lazarus would do as a blacksmith.
The Civil War years were frightening to residents of this area, on both sides of the conflict. There were divided sympathies between neighbors, and even within families. Property and life were not safe. Lazarus and Adeline had their share of fear, anger and determination during the early 1860's. Adeline's story to Ward L. Schrantz, the author of Jasper County, Missouri, in the Civil War is in his book on pages 56-58, and is beautifully told and written. Lazarus and Adeline were for the Union. They had to move away from the area to Fort Scott, Kansas, where Adeline's brother John A. Bryant was living, for a few years to save their lives and the lives of the children who lived with them.
Adeline and Lazarus had no biological children of their own, but adopted two orphaned little girls from a very young age in 1861--Martha Jane and Mary Elizabeth Vermillion. Their brother Jesse J. stayed with them for a while before moving on. In 1870 when they appear in the census living with Adeline, Jesse is 16, Mary Elizabeth is 12, and Martha Jane is 9. It was a full household that year--in addition to Lazarus, Adeline, her mother, their daughters, were William W. Key age 56, and Susan Key age 50.
Ten years later, it is a smaller household: Lazarus, Adeline, her mother Lucy, and hired hands Edward Briant (Bryant?), and James D. Defriest (Defries?). The farm continues to support them as they nourish it.
At the turn of the century, it is Lazarus, Adeline and Lucy, who is now 90, living together on a farm owned and free of a mortgage, and then in 1902 comes the death of her beloved Lazarus, followed by the death of her mother, Lucy, in 1903.
In the last 20 years of her life, Adeline's extended family lived with her--niece Lucy A. Blakely and Lucy's son Claude, and then later Lucy with nephew-in-law Edward Blakely. Claude and his wife lived next door.
As Adeline saw 1930 arrive, a caregiver, also a widow, Sarah Williams, lived with her.
When Adeline died in 1931 at the age of 97, a huge article appeared in the Carthage Evening Press on January 7, 1931, entitled "OLDEST RESIDENT IS DEAD". At the time, Adeline was the oldest settler of Jasper and of Newton counties. She died at her home. The article provided a great review of her life in the community, as well as her family.
In 1928, Adeline had made a will. In it she left $50 (a most princely sum at that time) to her 3 nieces and to Claude Blakely, with the balance of any estate to the children of Mary Elizabeth [Shafer] and Martha Jane [DeFries], "share and share alike".
Adeline stayed close to her nieces and nephews and to her adopted daughters. Martha Jane Vermillion (born October 1, 1860) married William Hastings DeFries on April 23, 1876, in Newton County. Her death came in 1915 in Oklahoma. Mary Elizabeth Vermillion (born March 3, 1858) married John Adams Shafer on June 24, 1877, also in Newton County. She lived nearby in the Joplin area, and died in 1926. Adeline had lived to see them both happily married, with families, and then sadly, to attend their funerals.
Surviving Adeline was her legacy--3 nieces, 10 grandchildren, 19 great-grandnieces and nephews, 27 great grandchildren, and 16 great-great grandchildren.
Note: Her first name as written on her marker--"Adline"--may be a nickname or a shortened version of her name. Historical records show "Adeline" most often, once as "Adaline".
Note: Adeline's researchers divide on the county of her birth--some record Cumberland, some Franklin.
Note: The marriage date for Adeline and Lazarus is recorded in Jasper County records as December 3, 1848. However, the record was not filed until February 26, 1849, so it is possibly in error, particularly as Adeline herself noted that she was married two days before Christmas.
~~mjp~~
Adeline Elizabeth Bryant Spence
Adeline and her husband were pioneer settlers in Jasper County, Missouri. Adeline came to the county from Indiana at the age of 10, but was originally from Virginia. Daniel and Lucy Bryant (who married in Franklin County, Virginia, on November 19, 1829) had moved their family from Virginia to Indiana when Adeline was five, and then five years later to Jasper County, Missouri, where Adeline would live the rest of her life.
Adeline was only fifteen when she married the love of her life--Lazarus Spence--on December 23, 1848, in Jasper County.
They established a farm on Jones Creek in 1850, next door to Adeline's parents, brother John Albert Bryant, and Wesley Key. After her father, Daniel, died in 1858, her mother Lucy came to live with Adeline and Lazarus, and would stay with them until her death, in 1903. They would live on the income from the farm and the work Lazarus would do as a blacksmith.
The Civil War years were frightening to residents of this area, on both sides of the conflict. There were divided sympathies between neighbors, and even within families. Property and life were not safe. Lazarus and Adeline had their share of fear, anger and determination during the early 1860's. Adeline's story to Ward L. Schrantz, the author of Jasper County, Missouri, in the Civil War is in his book on pages 56-58, and is beautifully told and written. Lazarus and Adeline were for the Union. They had to move away from the area to Fort Scott, Kansas, where Adeline's brother John A. Bryant was living, for a few years to save their lives and the lives of the children who lived with them.
Adeline and Lazarus had no biological children of their own, but adopted two orphaned little girls from a very young age in 1861--Martha Jane and Mary Elizabeth Vermillion. Their brother Jesse J. stayed with them for a while before moving on. In 1870 when they appear in the census living with Adeline, Jesse is 16, Mary Elizabeth is 12, and Martha Jane is 9. It was a full household that year--in addition to Lazarus, Adeline, her mother, their daughters, were William W. Key age 56, and Susan Key age 50.
Ten years later, it is a smaller household: Lazarus, Adeline, her mother Lucy, and hired hands Edward Briant (Bryant?), and James D. Defriest (Defries?). The farm continues to support them as they nourish it.
At the turn of the century, it is Lazarus, Adeline and Lucy, who is now 90, living together on a farm owned and free of a mortgage, and then in 1902 comes the death of her beloved Lazarus, followed by the death of her mother, Lucy, in 1903.
In the last 20 years of her life, Adeline's extended family lived with her--niece Lucy A. Blakely and Lucy's son Claude, and then later Lucy with nephew-in-law Edward Blakely. Claude and his wife lived next door.
As Adeline saw 1930 arrive, a caregiver, also a widow, Sarah Williams, lived with her.
When Adeline died in 1931 at the age of 97, a huge article appeared in the Carthage Evening Press on January 7, 1931, entitled "OLDEST RESIDENT IS DEAD". At the time, Adeline was the oldest settler of Jasper and of Newton counties. She died at her home. The article provided a great review of her life in the community, as well as her family.
In 1928, Adeline had made a will. In it she left $50 (a most princely sum at that time) to her 3 nieces and to Claude Blakely, with the balance of any estate to the children of Mary Elizabeth [Shafer] and Martha Jane [DeFries], "share and share alike".
Adeline stayed close to her nieces and nephews and to her adopted daughters. Martha Jane Vermillion (born October 1, 1860) married William Hastings DeFries on April 23, 1876, in Newton County. Her death came in 1915 in Oklahoma. Mary Elizabeth Vermillion (born March 3, 1858) married John Adams Shafer on June 24, 1877, also in Newton County. She lived nearby in the Joplin area, and died in 1926. Adeline had lived to see them both happily married, with families, and then sadly, to attend their funerals.
Surviving Adeline was her legacy--3 nieces, 10 grandchildren, 19 great-grandnieces and nephews, 27 great grandchildren, and 16 great-great grandchildren.
Note: Her first name as written on her marker--"Adline"--may be a nickname or a shortened version of her name. Historical records show "Adeline" most often, once as "Adaline".
Note: Adeline's researchers divide on the county of her birth--some record Cumberland, some Franklin.
Note: The marriage date for Adeline and Lazarus is recorded in Jasper County records as December 3, 1848. However, the record was not filed until February 26, 1849, so it is possibly in error, particularly as Adeline herself noted that she was married two days before Christmas.
~~mjp~~
Adeline and her husband were pioneer settlers in Jasper County, Missouri. Adeline came to the county from Indiana at the age of 10, but was originally from Virginia. Daniel and Lucy Bryant (who married in Franklin County, Virginia, on November 19, 1829) had moved their family from Virginia to Indiana when Adeline was five, and then five years later to Jasper County, Missouri, where Adeline would live the rest of her life.
Adeline was only fifteen when she married the love of her life--Lazarus Spence--on December 23, 1848, in Jasper County.
They established a farm on Jones Creek in 1850, next door to Adeline's parents, brother John Albert Bryant, and Wesley Key. After her father, Daniel, died in 1858, her mother Lucy came to live with Adeline and Lazarus, and would stay with them until her death, in 1903. They would live on the income from the farm and the work Lazarus would do as a blacksmith.
The Civil War years were frightening to residents of this area, on both sides of the conflict. There were divided sympathies between neighbors, and even within families. Property and life were not safe. Lazarus and Adeline had their share of fear, anger and determination during the early 1860's. Adeline's story to Ward L. Schrantz, the author of Jasper County, Missouri, in the Civil War is in his book on pages 56-58, and is beautifully told and written. Lazarus and Adeline were for the Union. They had to move away from the area to Fort Scott, Kansas, where Adeline's brother John A. Bryant was living, for a few years to save their lives and the lives of the children who lived with them.
Adeline and Lazarus had no biological children of their own, but adopted two orphaned little girls from a very young age in 1861--Martha Jane and Mary Elizabeth Vermillion. Their brother Jesse J. stayed with them for a while before moving on. In 1870 when they appear in the census living with Adeline, Jesse is 16, Mary Elizabeth is 12, and Martha Jane is 9. It was a full household that year--in addition to Lazarus, Adeline, her mother, their daughters, were William W. Key age 56, and Susan Key age 50.
Ten years later, it is a smaller household: Lazarus, Adeline, her mother Lucy, and hired hands Edward Briant (Bryant?), and James D. Defriest (Defries?). The farm continues to support them as they nourish it.
At the turn of the century, it is Lazarus, Adeline and Lucy, who is now 90, living together on a farm owned and free of a mortgage, and then in 1902 comes the death of her beloved Lazarus, followed by the death of her mother, Lucy, in 1903.
In the last 20 years of her life, Adeline's extended family lived with her--niece Lucy A. Blakely and Lucy's son Claude, and then later Lucy with nephew-in-law Edward Blakely. Claude and his wife lived next door.
As Adeline saw 1930 arrive, a caregiver, also a widow, Sarah Williams, lived with her.
When Adeline died in 1931 at the age of 97, a huge article appeared in the Carthage Evening Press on January 7, 1931, entitled "OLDEST RESIDENT IS DEAD". At the time, Adeline was the oldest settler of Jasper and of Newton counties. She died at her home. The article provided a great review of her life in the community, as well as her family.
In 1928, Adeline had made a will. In it she left $50 (a most princely sum at that time) to her 3 nieces and to Claude Blakely, with the balance of any estate to the children of Mary Elizabeth [Shafer] and Martha Jane [DeFries], "share and share alike".
Adeline stayed close to her nieces and nephews and to her adopted daughters. Martha Jane Vermillion (born October 1, 1860) married William Hastings DeFries on April 23, 1876, in Newton County. Her death came in 1915 in Oklahoma. Mary Elizabeth Vermillion (born March 3, 1858) married John Adams Shafer on June 24, 1877, also in Newton County. She lived nearby in the Joplin area, and died in 1926. Adeline had lived to see them both happily married, with families, and then sadly, to attend their funerals.
Surviving Adeline was her legacy--3 nieces, 10 grandchildren, 19 great-grandnieces and nephews, 27 great grandchildren, and 16 great-great grandchildren.
Note: Her first name as written on her marker--"Adline"--may be a nickname or a shortened version of her name. Historical records show "Adeline" most often, once as "Adaline".
Note: Adeline's researchers divide on the county of her birth--some record Cumberland, some Franklin.
Note: The marriage date for Adeline and Lazarus is recorded in Jasper County records as December 3, 1848. However, the record was not filed until February 26, 1849, so it is possibly in error, particularly as Adeline herself noted that she was married two days before Christmas.
~~mjp~~
Inscription
MOTHER
ADLINE E. SPENCE
BORN MAY 27, 1833
DIED JAN 6, 1931
Though thou art gone, fond mem'ry clings to thee.
Gravesite Details
Shares same marker with her husband, Lazarus Spence
Family Members
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