Vellorus & Jane Heath

HEATH MCMULLIN

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 9/21/2010 at 21:44:59

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

Vellorus and Jane (McMullin) Heath
By Marjorie Hath Ellis

Vellorus and wife, Jane (McMullin) Heath came to Woodbury County in 1882 and settled on a farm a mile south and quarter mile east of the Rock Branch Methodist Church.

Vellorus was born 3 November 1833 in Phillips, Franklin County, Maine, son of James Ashley and Betsey C Humphrey Heath. Vellorus had two sisters: Velzora, who married Johnson Miller in Wisconsin; and Viola, of whom nothing further is known. The Heath line can be traced to Benjamin Heath, 1750-1826, of Freetown, Massachusetts, and his wife, Deborah Ashley. Their son, Benjamin, made, the ‘first chopping’ to clear the land for the town of Salem, Maine, in 1815. Elijah, another son of Benjamin and Deborah, was the father of James Ashley. Elijah was married to Mercy Tower. Betsey Humphrey’s parents were James and Sarah. Betsey died October 4, 1858, in Grant County, Wisconsin, and is buried in Ebenezer Cemetery there. James remarried in 1862 in Wisconsin. His second wife was Sally (Brockway) Hill.

Jane McMullin was the daughter of James and Catherine (Johnson-Johnston) McMullin. Jane was born April 24, 1839, in Guernsey County, Ohio. The McMullin family moved to Grant County, Wisconsin, when she was seventeen. Her brothers and sisters were: Elizabeth Ann, Samuel, William, John and Rachel. Catharine (Johnston) McMullin died April 12, 1889, and is buried in Willow Lake, South Dakota.

Vellorus and Jane were married in Highland, Iowa County, Wisconsin, 26 June 1859. He served in the Civil War with Company K of the 33rd Regiment of Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers from October 1862 until August 1865, when he was mustered out with the Company at Vicksburg, Mississippi. She kept the farm going while he was away and in 1871 the family moved to Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

Six children were born to this couple, five in Wisconsin and one in Iowa. Cora Viola, 1860-1930) married W F ‘Will’ Shoemaker. They ran a restaurant in Correctionville and alter moved to the Leeds area of Sioux City. Their children were: William Vellorus ‘Roe’, James, and Minnie. ‘Roe’ and his wife Florence ‘Flo’ were the parents of Vellorus and Juanita. James and his wife, Elizabeth ‘Bess’ had two children, LeRoy and Fanchion. LeRoy died in 1924. Fanchion married Russell Rice in Detroit, Michigan, and lives there at this writing, near her two daughters, Mary Elizabeth and Kathleen. Minnie Shoemaker married a Mr Bergstrom; their daughter was name Diane.

Minnie Valnet Heath was born in 1861 and died in 1883. She is buried in Fairfield Cemetery, Rock Branch, Iowa.

Vellorus A Heath, 1863-1931, married Ina Batten. They lost two children as infants; those graves are in the Fairfield Cemetery at Rock Brach. Their surviving children were Clifford and Vera.

Walter Pettit Heath married Idella Mary Chase. Their story is given separately.

Frank Davis Heath, 1867-1948, married Mary ‘Mollie’ McLarnen. They lived out their lives in Vivian, South Dakota. They had two sons, Grover Cleveland and Jessie James Heath, and six grandchildren.

Charles Whitney ‘Chad’ Heath, 1874-1946, married Jennie Irene Chase, 1873-1953, daughter of Lyman J and Mary (Shurts) Chase. Chad was janitor at the Anthon School for many years. Their children: were Ednah Cecile, Irene Whitney, who died in infancy; Evelyn ‘Tudy’ and Charles Vellorus ‘Barney’. Ednah married Leon Strawn. They farmed near Correctionville. Their three children were: Irene (Mrs Vincent Jeannot of St Louis, Missouri), whose sons are Paul Michael, Leon Arthur ‘Pete’ and Steven Anthony; Lois (Mrs Charles Ahrendson of Anthon, Iowa) whose children are David William, Gregory Lee, Melinda Irene and Kevin Scott; and Leon Eugene of California who was his wife, Joan, has Marc, Michael Leon and Max Brian. Ednah Strawn now lives in Correctionville. ‘Tudy’ Heath married Milo ‘Mike’ Dicks. They operated a grocery store in Anthon for many years until Mike’s health failed. Their son, Jerry, is now in the grocery business in Anthon. Charles Vellorus married Alberta Hollaway. They lived in Michigan and had one son, Douglas.

Vellorus died October 25, 1891, and Jane died October 14, 1916. They are buried in the Fairfield Cemetery at Rock Branch in Woodbury County.