John and Sarah Mowry
Jeffrey La Favre - jlafavre@gmail.com
These are the parents of Clarence Mowry. My great grandfather John Harrison Mowry and great grandmother Sarah Edmundson Merriss Mowry. Merriss was her maiden name and she was always called "Sadie". She was born Nov. 11, 1846 in Naples, Illinois and died in Dec. 1933 in California. They came from Newton, Kansas. Later, they lived in California on Atlantic Blvd., Alhambra just above the Ten Frewy. - Barbara La Favre
My grandfather, Clarence, carried his family research back to the Highlands of Scotland. His ancestors belonged to the clan of Malcolm. These people were Catholics and had to escape to Bavaria, Germany when the Protestant took control of Scotland - just as our French Huguenots escaped to Holland and then America because they were Protestants and the Catholics were after them. - Barbara La Favre
Research by Jeffrey La Favre
According to the US Census for 1870, John H. and Sarah Mowry were living in Maroa, Macon County, Illinois. There was a third member of the household, Samantha Merriss. It is difficult to decipher the spelling of her last name, but Sarah had a sister named Samantha, who was two years older. The census, enumerated June 1, 1870, lists John age 22, Sarah age 22, Samantha age 24. John was listed as a domestic servant, born in Ohio; Sarah was listed "keeping house", born in Illinois; Samantha was listed born in Illinois.
In 1880 the US Census listed John H. and Sadie E. Mowry living in Grant Township, Sedgwick County, Kansas. Also in the household was son, Clarence H. and daughter Wissiehickus [or Wessiehickus]. The census, enumerated June 3, 1880 listed John age 31, a farmer, married, born in Ohio, his father born in Pennsylvania, his mother born in Ohio; Sadie age 31, wife, married, born in Illinois, her father born in Ohio, her mother born in Illinois; Clarence, age 9, born in Illinois; Wissiehickus, age 6, born Ohio. Assuming this information to be accurate, John moved his family from Illinois to Ohio during the time period of about 1871 to 1874. Then by the time of the census in 1880, they were living in Kansas.
Unfortunately, most of the US Census for 1890 was destroyed by fire and I was not able to locate an entry for John and Sadie. In 1900 the census listed J. H. and Sadie E. Mowry living at 819 Plum, Newton, Harvey County, Kansas, confirming my mother's information above. The census, enumerated June 15, 1900, listed J. H., age 52, born January, 1848 in Ohio, his father born in Pennsylvania, his mother born in Ohio, John's occupation was salesman of implements [farming implements?], he was married 30 years; Sadie E., age 52, born November, 1847 in Illinois, her father and mother born in Illinois. Also listed in the household was their daughter, Ada B., age 17, born June 1883 in Kansas.
The 1910 US Census located J. H. and Sarah E. Mowry living at 108 South Main Street, Newton, Harvey County Kansas. The census, enumerated April 15, 1910, listed J. H., age 63, married 41 years, a hardware salesman, owned his home free of a mortgage, born in Ohio, his father born in Pennsylvania, his mother born in Ohio; Sarah E., age 64, born in Illinois, her father born in Canada, her mother born in New York. Also listed in the household were two boarders, Nell Burns and Charles Williams.
In 1920 the US Census listed John H. and Sarah E. Mowry living at 375 3rd Street, Pomona, Los Angeles County, California. The census, enumerated January 16, 1920, listed John H., age 72, no occupation, born in Ohio, his father born in Pennsylvania, his mother born in Ohio; Sarah E., age 73, born in Illinois, her father born in Canada, her mother born in New York.
In 1930 we find John and Sarah living in their last home in Alhambra, California. The US census, enumerated on April 5, 1930, listed John H. and Sarah E. Mowry living at 1604 Atlantic Blvd., Alhambra, California. John H. was listed at age 82, retired, age 21 at the time of his marriage, born in Ohio, his father born in Pennsylvania, his mother born in Ohio; Sarah E., age 83, age 22 at the time of her marriage, born in Illinois, her father born in Canada, her mother born in New York. John and Sarah owned their home, which was valued at $5,500.
Further detail regarding John and Sarah's movements in the Los Angeles area can be gleaned from indexes of voter registration for the county. Their addresses are listed below:
1916 - 546 Cherry Ave., Long Beach
1920 - 375 E. 3rd St., Pomona
1922 - 317 S. Stafford St., Huntington Park
1924 - 910 N. Park Ave., Pomona
1926 - 319 W. Lemon Ave., Monrovia
1928 - 1604 S. Wilson Ave., Alhambra
1930 - 1604 S. Wilson Ave., Alhambra
1934 - 1604 Atlantic Blvd, Alhambra [Wilson Ave. name was changed to Atlantic
Blvd. about 1930]
It is interesting to note that a Roy M. and Sarah E. Mowry were listed in 1922 living at 559 Mountain View Ave., Huntington Park (Roy listed in real estate business). This couple is also found on later voter lists, including 1952 and 1954, indicating they were probably a generation younger than John and Sarah. Were they related or was this just a coincidence?
The identity of John Harrison Mowry's parents remains a mystery. The US Census for years 1880 through 1930 are perfectly consistent in listing the birth states of his parents, Pennsylvania for his father and Ohio for his mother and also his birth state, Ohio. These are helpful clues which may lead to discovery of the parents with further research. There is an interesting possibility listed in the 1850 US Census. In Newberry Township, Miami County, Ohio, the census enumerated August 23, 1850 listed a C. B. and Mary Mowry. The head of the household, C. B., was listed as age 34, a wagon maker; Mary Mowry, age 25; William Mowry, age 7; George Mowry, age 5; John H. Mowry, age 3; Alphonso Mowry, age 5 months. C. B. Mowry's birth state was listed as Pennsylvania and Mary Mowry's birth state as Ohio. All of the children were listed as born in Ohio. All of this information fits very well with John Harrison Mowry but does not prove that C. B. and Mary Mowry were his parents.
The US Census data for Sarah E. Mowry are problematic in regards to the birth states of her parents. However, there is other data available to establish their identity. John and Sarah's son, Clarence Harrison Mowry, was a member of The Sons of the American Revolution (his number 20900). In the National Year Book, 1911, published by SAR, on page 260 there is this entry for Clarence: "Son of John Harrison and Sarah Edmundson (Merriss) Mowry; grandson of John Bethuel and Caroline Matilda (Draper) Merriss; great-grandson of Samuel and Huldah (Thornton) Draper; great2-grandson of Jesse Thornton, private, Col. Moses Nichols's New Hampshire Regt.; great2-grandson of David and Rebecca (Healey) Draper; great3-grandson of John and Mary (Wight) Healy Jr.; great4-grandson of John Healey, or Healy, private, Col. William McIntosh's Mass. Regt." And in the Official Bulletin of SAR, October 15, 1906, page 26: "Great3-grandson of Mary Aldis Draper, patriot, supplied food, clothing and ammunition to Mass. soldiers; great3-grandson of William Scott, Sergeant Virginia Continental Line."
As of this writing, I don't know if Clarence H. Mowry submitted any genealogy to SAR of the Mowry line other than his father. However, the line to a William Scott might help. I believe that William Scott, a Sergeant of the Virginia Continental Line, may have had a son named Hugh Scott, born 13 January, 1771 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Hugh Scott died 11 September 1850 in Piqua, Miami County, Ohio. Piqua is just east of the township of Newberry, where C. B. Mowry was enumerated on the 1850 US Census. Hugh Scott had a daughter named Nancy M. Her mother was Nancy McCallum Landon Scott. Could the child Nancy's middle name have been Mary? Was she the Mary that married C. B. Mowry?
According to my mother, Clarence H. Mowry traced his ancestry back to the clan of Malcolm in Scotland. I believe there is a connection between the clans of MacCallum and Malcolm. Then it is interesting to note that Hugh Scott's wife (his second or third wife) was named Nancy McCallum Landon. Was this the clan connection Clarence had discovered? Also of interest, William Scott's father, John Scott, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. I hope to recover additional research that my great grandfather, Clarence H. Mowry, may have submitted to SAR which establish his connection to the Malcolm clan.
last page update: 4/10/09