Cora A (Coder) Kneisley (1877 - 1966)

Born 15 Mar 1877 in Pike, Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 18 Aug 1966 at age 89 in Bellefontaine, Logan, Ohio, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Scott Hoffman [send private message]

Biography

Cora was born in 1877. She passed away in 1966.

Sources

• Birth from birth record. Death from personal knowledge

Birth record is for Clara A Brodess, listing Charles Brodess and Vianna Coder as parents, recorded in Pike County, OH; shows Vianna living in Pike County; Charles living in Ross County. The birth date listed on the birth record is known to be the birth date of Cora A Coder, daughter of Vianna Coder (personal knowledge of Elizabeth Hoffman). The 1880 Census shows a child of the correct age in the household of Vianna (living in the household of her widowed mother and family) and the child's name is listed as Cora Coder.

While the birth document is clear, it is suspect. Cora was born out of wedlock at a time that this must have been absolutely scandalous. It's not like it was a secret, with infant Cora shown living in her grandmother's household with her mother, aunts and uncles.

Scott Hoffman, Phil Hoffman, and Larry Kneisley, Cora's grandsons, all completed DNA testing with various laboratories. To date (April, 2022) not a single DNA relative from the Brodess line has been identified. While this is not definitive, it raises the question of whether the birth record was reported truthfully.

Cora's mother, Vianna, went on to marry Joseph Murphy in 1886, when Cora would have been about age 9. The loss of records from the 1890 Census means that we do not know if Cora lived in the household of Joseph Murphy and Vianna, but that would be a reasonably assumption. A number of DNA relatives have been found among the descendants of Vianna and Joseph (1/2-cousins).

The amount of DNA shared is within the range for both 1/2-cousins and full cousins. The Murphy's are recorded on the same census page as the Coder's in 1870, but are some distance away by the 1880 Census. A scenario can be imagined where Joseph Murphy is Cora's biological father, not Charles Brodess, despite the birth record. There is some endogamy among families in the area, and as time and generations pass, it may become impossible to prove through DNA the identity of Cora's father.

By the 1900 Census, Cora, then age 23, is believed to be a teacher in Highland County. This is somewhat tenuous, but reasonable conclusion. The 1971 Kneisley Ancestral Notes by Gladys Hook state that Cora was from Highland County, which has been shown here to be incorrect. However, if we assume there was some basis for the statement, that would mesh well with a census record for "Cora Courter" age 23 (correct) listed as a school teacher (consistent with the Kneisley Ancestral Notes), in a boarding house in Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio.