Mary Emma Watrous

WATROUS

Posted By: Nicky Eickerman (email)
Date: 5/21/2002 at 19:01:36

I am trying to find the parents of my great-grandmother, Mary Emma Watrous, born December 1839 in Michigan. Although Mary may not have ever lived in Dallas County, my best lead is in that county. If you can help me find out about a Watrous family who lived in Boone Township in the 1800's, I would appreciate your efforts.

I would like to confirm the first children born to Andrew WATROUS.
(Obituaries - Will - etc) I know of the youngest children, but not the ones born in the 1830's.
Andrew was born about 1805 in New York, died July 28,1871 in Iowa and is buried at the Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines with his wife Matilda who died May 9, 1888.

Andrew and his wife Matilda are living in Dallas County in the 1860 and 1870 census.
This is how the census reads:

1860 Dallas County, Boone Township, P. O. Boone
Andrew W. Watrous, age 55, physician, 4000 real estate, 500 personal property, NY
Matilda, age 54, born in NY
Julia, 15, born in Ohio
Andrew, age 20, farmer, born in NY
Sarah J., age 13, born in Ohio
Martha, age 10, born in Ohio

1870 Dallas County, Boone Township, P. O. Dexter
Watrous, Andrew, age 65, farmer, 10,000 real estate, 5,000 personal property, NY
Matilda, age 64, keeping house, born in NY
(next farm is Andrew's youngest daughter)
Shephard, Henry, age 22, works on farm, born in Ohio
Martha, age 20, keeping house

I am hoping to prove that Andrew had a son named Phineas, born in 1836 1837 and a daughter named Mary Emma, born in 1839, probably in Michigan. There may have been even more children!

For added help, I have found that a Phineas Watrous is living in Boone County in 1879, and I also see that a Phineas Watrous is buried in Commerce City at the Buv Cemetery, died March 24,1886. I have not accessed an 1880 census.

Mary Watrous has been my dead end story after four years of research. She died of TB in 1885 in Montgomery County, Iowa - no death certificate, no obituary and no one knows anything about her other than she was married to William Scott Rupp in 1861 in Muscatine, Iowa. After extensive research in both Montgomery and Muscatine Counties, we come up with nothing. My elderly mother remembers that her grandmother had family in the Des Moines area.

Can you help, please.
Sincerely,
Nicky Eickerman
Vancouver, WA