In a previous post, The Marriage of George Ealey and Malissa Rader, I researched the bride and groom's respective family trees. Through this research I learned that George Ealey was the son of William and Wealthy Hicks Ealey. One of the items I found along with George and Malissa's marriage license was a photograph labelled in pencil, "Willey Presnol & wife, first cousin of mom."
I recalled seeing a similar surname in one of the books I had consulted on the Ealey family. I went back to A Standard history of Champaign County, Illinois : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, civic and social development, a chronicle of the people, with family lineage and memoirs. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1918. William Ealey moved to Champaign County in 1891 and received an extensive biographical entry in volume 2 of the book. The biography included information on William Ealey's children and told me that George Ealey's brother, William M. married Louisa Presnell, of Clay County, Indiana. I also discovered in the Indiana Marriage Index, that George's sister Sarah Ann Ealey, married Louisa Presnell's brother, John R. Presnell. The 1870 US Census for Jackson, Clay County shows the family of Calvin and Jane Presnell, with brother and sister, John R., 15 and Louisa F., 12, along with 5 other siblings.
John R. and Sarah Presnell, had a son named William Calvin, born 9th of April 1878. The family lived in Sugar Ridge, Clay County, Indiana. William or "Willey" Presnell married Claudie Ethel Moon on the 27th of July, 1898 in Danville, Indiana. I believe this is who we see in the picture above.
According to the 1906 Canada Census for Manitoba, William C. and Claudie Presnell moved to Saskatchewan in 1905 and lived in the Humboldt area. William's mother Sarah Ann Ealey Presnell remarried after her husband John died, and moved to Humboldt as well. Her second husband, Mr. Barnett passed away shortly after arriving. She, and a few other Presnells from Clay County can be found in Humboldt on the 1906 census as well.
So who owned this photograph? The question makes my head hurt just a little bit, but I believe "Mom" is Ora Ealey Kolcheck, daughter of George and Melissa Ealey. William Calvin Presnell would be Ora's first cousin. The grouping of artifacts I found seem to have Ora as the main link to all of the artifacts. So it's my belief that one of her children wrote the notation, with the mispelled surname, on the back of this photograph.
Update: November 2012
This image has been reunited with a descendant in Missouri.
I am a descendant of George Washington Ealey and Eve Cobble. My great grandparents were Rev. William Ealey and Louisa Presnell (his first wife). My cousins and I have been working on our Ealey ancestors. We would like either copies or the originals of the pictures and marriage licenses relating to the Ealeys.
ReplyDeleteThank you for saving our family history.
Hi ab38c924-efec-11e1-9091-000bcdcb5194,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment! Feel free to contact me at the email address provided on my profile. (Be sure to remove the part of the email as indicated). A descendant of Ora Ealey's sold these items and many others to an ephemera dealer on Vancouver Island last year. It's wonderful to hear that another line of the family is interested in them.