Margrette Ann (Mooney) Rodgers (1835 - 1873)

Born 6 Oct 1835 in Pennsylvania, United States

Descendants

Died 11 Jul 1873 at age 37 in Chautauqua, Kansas, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Amber Brosius [send private message]

Biography

Based on the age given on her gravestone,^[1] Margrette Mooney was born 6 Oct 1835, but that date is open to debate. The year is probably wrong, as it would make her barely a teenager when her own children were born.

The earliest known document regarding Margrette is the 1860 census in South Shenango, Crawford, Pennsylvania.^[2] Her age is given as 26, giving her an approximate birth date of 1834, which is, indeed, not far from the birth date given on her gravestone. However, it would make her only 14 years old at the birth of her eldest daughter, Mary. Such an age is not impossible, but is rather unlikely. It is also possible that Mary was not biologically Margrette's daughter, but a daughter from a previous marriage of Margrette's husband, Adam. However, the closeness in ages between Mary and her brother John would suggest that they shared a mother, and John consistently identified Margrette as his mother. (That is, Margrette's children with her second husband are consistently called John's half-brothers and half-sisters.)

Margrette's husband Adam Brosius passed away on 1 Mar 1861,^[3] and by 1864, Margrette had remarried a man named John Rodgers. John Rodgers took the family west. The 1870 census finds them in Bourbon county, Kansas.^[4] Sometime between 1870 and 1873 they relocated to Belleville Township, near the town of Peru, in Howard county (now Chautauqua county), Kansas, because when Margrette died on 11 July 1873, she was buried in Peru Cemetery.^[1] It seems likely that she died of complications from childbirth, as her death followed the birth of her last child, Samuel Elbert, by less than two months.

See also "The Brosius Family: South Shenango, 1861," "The Brosius Family: South Shenango, 1862-1863," "The Brosius Family: Margrette’s Second Marriage," "Rodgers-Brosius family in Bourbon county, 1869-1873ish," and "Brosius family in Howard County, Kansas 1873ish-1875" at the Heritage Huntress blog.

Research Notes

Based on DNA evidence, Margrette Mooney was almost certainly actually a Mohney, but the genealogical connection has not yet been found. It has been suggested that she may have been a daughter of Isaac Mohney, who named a daughter "Peggy Ann" in his will (Peggy being a common nickname for Margaret). The dates make sense, but more proof is needed.

The family tree at FamilySearch has a different Margaret Ann Mohney, married to William Packer, connected as Isaac's daughter, but has no sources attached to support that connection except one that says only "Memory of Someone: birth-name: Margaret Ann Mohney." More research is needed to determine whether either of these candidates is truly the daughter of Isaac Mohney.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 17 July 2020), memorial page for Margrett A. Rodgers (unknown–11 Jul 1873), Find A Grave: Memorial #19172677, citing Peru Cemetery, Peru, Chautauqua County, Kansas, USA ; Maintained by Judy Mayfield (contributor 46636512) .
2. ↑ 1860 U.S. census, Crawford, Pennsylvania, population schedule, South Shenango Township, p. 129-130, dwelling 953, family 938; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653.
3. ↑ Crawford, Pennsylvania, Orphans’ Court Record 753, No. 17: Petition of David McKinley Guardian of Rebecca Brosius for leave to sell real estate, April Term 1878; Crawford County Office of the Clerk of Courts, Meadville. Xerox copy in possession of Amber Brosius, sent by Gloria Brosius.
4. ↑ 1870 U.S. census, Bourbon, Kansas, population schedule, Mill Creek, p. 12, dwelling 88, family 88, Household of John Rodgers; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M593.

• Crawford, Pennsylvania, Orphans’ Court Record 246, Petition of Rebecca Brotious for Guardian, 7 Apr 1869; Crawford County Office of the Clerk of Courts, Meadville.