Margaret Ann (Johnson) Roush (1827 - abt. 1901)

Born 25 Dec 1827 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States

Wife of John Mussulman — married May 1846 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, United States

Descendants

Died about Oct 1901 at about age 73 in Mercer County, Ohio, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: K. Cathey [send private message]

Biography

Margaret was born in about 1827 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. According to later census records, her mother was born in Pennsylvania, and her father was an immigrant from Ireland.

Margaret married John Mussulman in May 1846.^[1] While her obituary says the Mussulmans arrived in Ohio in 1856, her children Jacob and Fanny, born in 1846 and 1848 respectively, list their birthplaces as Ohio. The family may have arrived in Mercer County in 1856, as they purchased land there in 1854 and first appear on the U.S. Census there in 1860.^[2] The family may have lived in Richland County before then; John Mussulman was listed as residing there when he purchased property in Mercer County in 1854.^[3]

Margaret and John Mussulman appear to have split up between 1867 and 1870. Two of her children, Eliza Jane and Martha, were living with unrelated couples in Mercer County in 1870, and John was living with his sister Eliza Crouse and her children in Richland County. The whereabouts of Margaret and their other children are unknown at this time.

In 1873, Margaret married William Crouse - her former brother-in-law - in Fort Wayne, Indiana.^[4] The marriage was apparently illegal, as Margaret had never officially divorced John Mussulman. It's unknown whether William and Eliza (Mussulman) Crouse divorced.

William and Margaret Crouse probably moved to Paulding County, Ohio shortly after their marriage. Two daughters, Martha and Maggie, married in Paulding in 1878, while Eliza Jane married in Mercer in 1875. Martha's marriage was by "mother's order" and the license was signed by her older brother Jacob. The Crouses were listed as living in Paulding on the 1880 census.^[5] William Crouse died in 1881; after his death, his children from his first marriage challenged Margaret's right to inherit based on the illegitimacy of their marriage. They offered her $200 and the household goods, according to an article in the Paulding Gazette. A deed from the same time period showed they purchased 80 acres of land from her for another $150.

In 1887, Margaret married Joseph Roush.^[6]

By the 1900 census, Margaret was living with her daughter Martha and son-in-law William Springer in Mercer County, Ohio.^[7]

Margaret died on Oct. 20 or 27, 1901 at the Springers' home in Celina, Ohio. Her obituary, printed in the Daily Standard, named her the mother of seven children with three surviving - Martha, Maggie and Eliza Jane - 25 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.^[8] She was buried in North Grove Cemetery in Celina.^[9]

Her mtDNA haplogroup is j1b1a1b.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1669-2013. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Details: Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records; Reel: 691.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCPQ-M6Z : 13 December 2017), Margaret Mussleman in entry for John Mussleman, 1860.
3. ↑ Deed record. FamilySearch.org, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-L16L-BFF?cat=250681
4. ↑ "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVM1-DQYW : 10 February 2018), William Crouse and Margaret A Johnson, 20 Aug 1873; citing Allen, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 549,311.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8S8-4VW : 12 August 2017), Margaret Crouse in household of William Crouse, Paulding, Paulding, Ohio, United States; citing enumeration district ED 129, sheet 614C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 1056; FHL microfilm 1,255,056.
6. ↑ "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8ZB-6HK : 10 December 2017), Joseph Roush and Margaret A Crouse, 18 Jun 1887; citing Marriage, Paulding, Ohio, United States, Vol 4 p 111, Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society, Columbus; FHL microfilm.
7. ↑ 1900 United States Federal Census. Census Place: Celina, Mercer, Ohio; Page: 27; Enumeration District: 0084; FHL microfilm: 1241304
8. ↑ Obituary card on file at the Mercer County Library in Celina, Ohio. Copy provided by genealogy volunteer Ken Mote. The card cites conflicting information on the day between the Daily Standard and the health department.
9. ↑ FindAGrave.com #38436913.
10. ↑ 23andMe DNA test results for K. Cathey, matrilineal descendant.