Sarah was the older sister of my 3rd great grandmother, Emily Gillen HUNTER (1810-1887). Most of the children were only a couple of years apart. It must have meant a lively household for this Gillen family.
Sarah’s father, William Gillen moved the family to Lawrence County, Ohio, before 1820. He was one of the early settlers of Lawrence County, Ohio and was a teacher there. The 1882 Hardesty Atlas of Lawrence County, Ohio states “William Gillen taught the first school in 1820, on the right hand fork of Storms Creek. The house was a big log cabin with neither floor nor windows. There are now eleven school houses in the township….”
When Sarah was 18, she married Stephen WILSON on 24 May 1827 in Lawrence County, Ohio. Stephen was 23 years old.
(click on any image to enlarge it)
Sarah & Stephen had 5 known children as follows: Emily born about 1830, died 1912, married Dr. Jonathan MORRIS; William J., born about 1836 and died 31 Aug 1857 age 21; John G., born 28 Oct 1838, died 27 Jan 1912 married Sara J. LANGSHORE; Robert Stephen born 19 Feb 1844, died 28 Oct 1915, married Nancy EATON; Dr. Dewitt C. born 1 May 1847, died 1 Feb 1935, married Electa ALDERMAN.
According to the probate record for Stephen Wilson, he owned a store and quite a lot of land in the Lawrence County, Ohio area. The store was named S. Wilson & Sons. After Stephen’s death the store was co owned by his son, John and wife Sarah.
In 1857, Sarah & Stephen’s oldest son, William died. He was only 21 years old. I have not located his death record, so I have no idea why he died so young. It must have been heartbreaking for his family. He is buried at Woodland Cemetery in Ironton, Lawrence, Ohio and his memorial can be found here #29372828
Stephen & Sarah had been married 44 years when Stephen died 26 Sep 1871. Sarah was 62 and her four living children, Emily, John, Robert & Dewitt were now adults and two of them were married.
The following year, in 1872, Sarah was able to see her two youngest sons marry. Robert Stephen married Nancy Eaton on 29 Sep 1872 and Dewitt married Electa Alderman on 8 Oct 1872. Both were married in Lawrence Co., Ohio. It must have been a busy time for the family with two weddings within 9 days.
Stephen left Sarah with plenty of assets, which I hope gave her a comfortable life, until her death on 19 Jun 1878, at age 69.
According to the death record for Sarah, she died of heart disease. Her obituary states that she died at her youngest son’s home, Dr. Dewitt Clinton Wilson.
She is buried at Woodland Cemetery, along with her husband and all of her children.
If you are related to any of the people mentioned in this post, I’d love to hear from you. I don’t have photos of either Sarah or her husband, Steven.
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.