Pulver/Snider Family History

This is the family history of my great aunt and her infant brother
-- Mary Melissa PULVER Stevenson [1883-1969] and
-- Willard Franklin PULVER [1888-1888].
"Aunt Mary" raised my father and was the only "grandmother" I ever knew.

The family was created 26 May 1881 by the wedding of their parents
-- Edward Franklin (Ed) PULVER [1854-1936] and
-- Ohio Estella SNIDER [1860-1941] in Piper City, Illinois, USA.

Ed, Ohio, all four of their parents, and four unmarried children are buried in Brenton Cemetery on US highway 24 near Piper City, Brenton Township, Ford County, Illinois. The population of Piper City was 781 in the 2000 census.

This webpage contains their four-generation pedigree, followed by images and a chronology of significant events in the family history.of Ed, Ohio,
-- his Pulver, Maxfield, Warner, and Cooke ancestors, and/or
-- her Snider, Felter, and Watt ancestors, etc.

--------- ---------  --------- ---------  --------- ---------  --------- ---------
PULVER    MAXFIELD   WARNER    COOKE      SNIDER    FELTER     WATT      ?
Peter I   Sarah      Alonzo E  Ruth       Capt.John Martha     Alexander Elizabeth
b.1788    b.1788     b.1794 MA b.c1802    b.        b.         b.        b.
d.>1832   d.         d.1850 MA d.1862 MA  d.c1825   d.c1825    d.>1885PA d.
-------------------  -------------------  -------------------  -------------------
 PULVER               WARNER               SNIDER               WATT
 Maj Martin Maxfield  Mary Elizabeth       Jacob Felter         Melissa Patten
 b.1831 NY Copake     b.1834 MA Belchertwn b.1822 OH Mont Cty   b.1826 PA WarrenCty
 d.1914 MI BentonHarb d.1916 IN Montpelier d.1895 IL Piper City d.1918 IL Piper City
 ---------------------------------------   ---------------------------------------
  PULVER                                    SNIDER
  Cpl Edward Franklin                       Ohio Estelle
  b.1854 IL Princeton                       b.1860 IL Woodford County El Paso
  d.1936 IN Indianapolis at home            d.1941 IN Indianapolis at home
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                PULVER                         PULVER
                Mary Melissa                   Willard Franklin
                b.1883 IL Piper City           b.1888 MN Minneapolis
                d.1969 IN North Manchester     d.1888 MN Minneapolis
                m.STEVENSON Robert Ellege      Died age 2 months

Right click image to enlarge.

March 22, 1822 -- Birth of Jacob Felter SNIDER in Montgomery County, Ohio. He will become a farmer in Brenton Township, Illinois, and will die at age 72 from a poisoned toe. He is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
April 26, 1826 -- Birth of Melissa Patten WATT in Spring Creek (near Erie), Warren County, New York. She will be a Presbyterian. We have a quilt, a tablecloth, and a "gr. coverlet" which she made (per note by GMCL 12/01/1974). Also a locket of her hair from 1909. She is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
January 21, 1831 -- Birth of Martin Maxfield PULVER in Copake, Columbia County, New York. He has 5 brothers and 8 sisters. He will be an officer in the 31st/91st Massachusetts Colored Infantry and serve in New Orleans during the Civil War. We have a photo, his two swords, his GAR medals, and a Bible. He is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
April 4, 1834 -- Birth of Mary Elizabeth WARNER in Belchertown, Massachusetts. She will be a Presbyterian and a noted singer. We have a photo, a quilt she made, and a candlestick. She is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
September 1, 1853 -- Wedding of Martin Maxfield PULVER and Mary Melissa WARNER in Granby, Massachusetts (near Belchertown?). Parents of Edward Franklin (Ed) PULVER [born 1854].
August 19, 1854 -- Birth of Edward Franklin (Ed) PULVER in Princeton, Bureau County, Illinois. Ed will become an accountant and woodworker, will serve in Company L, 3rd Cavalry, in Nebraska during the Indian Wars, and will become a 33rd degree Mason. He is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
January 21, 1856 -- Wedding of Jacob Felter SNIDER and Melissa Patten WATT in Spring Creek (near Erie), Warren County, New York. Parents of Ohio Estella SNIDER [born 1860].
May 26, 1860 -- Birth of Ohio Estella SNIDER in El Paso, Woodford County, Illinois. Ohio will live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as of 1888, will live in Benton Harbor, Michigan, as of 1895-1909, and will move to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1919. She will die at age 81. She is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
January 2, 1872 -- The 3rd Cavalry is transferred from Arizona to fight the Sioux in Nebraska and Wyoming Territory (info from Wikipedia article about Emmet Crawford, namesake of Crawford, Nebraska, and Fort Crawford, Colorado -- both named in 1886).
June 25-26, 1876 -- Battle of the Little Bighorn — also known as Custer's Last Stand, and, in the parlance of the relevant Native Americans, the Battle of the Greasy Grass — near the Little Bighorn River in the eastern Montana Territory.
May 26, 1881 -- Wedding of Edward Franklin (Ed) PULVER and Ohio Estella SNIDER on her 21st birthday by the Rev. W.C. Neely at the Snider home in Piper City, Illinois. They will have have two children: Mary Melissa PULVER Stevenson [1883-____] and Willard Franklin PULVER [1888-1888].
June 22, 1883 -- Birth of Mary Melissa PULVER at 7:00 am in her grandmother Pulver's home in Piper City, Illinois. Mary will marry in 1909 at age 26 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, will have no children, will die in ___ at age ___ in North Manchester, Indiana. She is buried in Roachdale, Indiana.
August 10, 1887 -- The Great Chatsworth Train Wreck kills 81-85 people and injures 169–372 between Chatsworth and Piper City (just a mile or two from the Brunton Cemetery). A Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad (TP&W) excursion train bound for Niagara Falls from Peoria crosses over a trestle weakened earlier in the day by a fire, causing it to collapse. Jameson family members (no relation to the Pulver or Snider families) survive the wreck.
June 8, 1888 -- Birth of Willard Franklin PULVER in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Willard will live only two months and die of cholera. His body will be shipped from Minneapolis to Chatsworth, Illinois, and be buried in the nearby Brenton Cemetery. We still possess the shipping certificate.
1919 -- Lucien C. Warner and Josephine Genung Nichols publish "The Descendants of Andrew Warner [c1595-1684]" (New Haven, 1919, 8vo, viii + 804 pages, with a 92-page index and 48 images). A digital edition on CD-ROM will be published in June 2005. Alonzo Elijah WARNER (see pedigree above) was a ______ of Andrew WARNER. The Pulver family is named in this extensive book, a copy of which was possessed by Mary Melissa PULVER Stevenson.
July 2, 2008 -- Ted and Schera visit Brunton Cmetry near Piper City, Illinois. Ten visits the Piper City Library. Seven Pulver graves and three Snider graves are confirmed. All seven Pulver names are inscribed on a single obelisk.
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	March 22, 1822 -- Birth of Jacob Felter SNIDER in Montgomery County, Ohio. He will become a farmer in Brenton Township, Illinois, and will die at age 72 from a poisoned toe. He is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
	April 26, 1826 -- Birth of Melissa Patten WATT in Spring Creek (near Erie), Warren County, New York. She will be a Presbyterian. We have a quilt, a tablecloth, and a "gr. coverlet" which she made (per note by GMCL 12/01/1974). Also a locket of her hair from 1909. She is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
	January 21, 1831 -- Birth of Martin Maxfield PULVER in Copake, Columbia County, New York. He has 5 brothers and 8 sisters. He will be an officer in the 31st/91st Massachusetts Colored Infantry and serve in New Orleans during the Civil War. We have a photo, his two swords, his GAR medals, and a Bible. He is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
	April 4, 1834 -- Birth of Mary Elizabeth WARNER in Belchertown, Massachusetts. She will be a Presbyterian and a noted singer. We have a photo, a quilt she made, and a candlestick. She is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
	September 1, 1853 -- Wedding of Martin Maxfield PULVER and Mary Melissa WARNER in Granby, Massachusetts (near Belchertown?). Parents of Edward Franklin (Ed) PULVER [born 1854].
	August 19, 1854 -- Birth of Edward Franklin (Ed) PULVER in Princeton, Bureau County, Illinois. Ed will become an accountant and woodworker, will serve in Company L, 3rd Cavalry, in Nebraska during the Indian Wars, and will become a 33rd degree Mason. He is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
	January 21, 1856 -- Wedding of Jacob Felter SNIDER and Melissa Patten WATT in Spring Creek (near Erie), Warren County, New York. Parents of Ohio Estella SNIDER [born 1860].
	May 26, 1860 -- Birth of Ohio Estella SNIDER in El Paso, Woodford County, Illinois. Ohio will live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as of 1888, will live in Benton Harbor, Michigan, as of 1895-1909, and will move to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1919. She will die at age 81. She is buried in Brenton Cemetery near Piper City, Illinois.
	January 2, 1872 -- The 3rd Cavalry is transferred from Arizona to fight the Sioux in Nebraska and Wyoming Territory (info from Wikipedia article about Emmet Crawford, namesake of Crawford, Nebraska, and Fort Crawford, Colorado -- both named in 1886).
	June 25-26, 1876 -- Battle of the Little Bighorn — also known as Custer's Last Stand, and, in the parlance of the relevant Native Americans, the Battle of the Greasy Grass — near the Little Bighorn River in the eastern Montana Territory.
	May 26, 1881 -- Wedding of Edward Franklin (Ed) PULVER and Ohio Estella SNIDER on her 21st birthday by the Rev. W.C. Neely at the Snider home in Piper City, Illinois. They will have have two children: Mary Melissa PULVER Stevenson [1883-____] and Willard Franklin PULVER [1888-1888].
	June 22, 1883 -- Birth of Mary Melissa PULVER at 7:00 am in her grandmother Pulver's home in Piper City, Illinois. Mary will marry in 1909 at age 26 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, will have no children, will die in ___ at age ___ in North Manchester, Indiana. She is buried in Roachdale, Indiana.
	August 10, 1887 -- The Great Chatsworth Train Wreck kills 81-85 people and injures 169–372 between Chatsworth and Piper City (just a mile or two from the Brunton Cemetery). A Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad (TP&W) excursion train bound for Niagara Falls from Peoria crosses over a trestle weakened earlier in the day by a fire, causing it to collapse. Jameson family members (no relation to the Pulver or Snider families) survive the wreck.
	June 8, 1888 -- Birth of Willard Franklin PULVER in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Willard will live only two months and die of cholera. His body will be shipped from Minneapolis to Chatsworth, Illinois, and be buried in the nearby Brenton Cemetery. We still possess the shipping certificate.
	1919 -- Lucien C. Warner and Josephine Genung Nichols publish "The Descendants of Andrew Warner [c1595-1684]" (New Haven, 1919, 8vo, viii + 804 pages, with a 92-page index and 48 images). A digital edition on CD-ROM will be published in June 2005. Alonzo Elijah WARNER (see pedigree above) was a ______ of Andrew WARNER. The Pulver family is named in this extensive book, a copy of which was possessed by Mary Melissa PULVER Stevenson.
	July 2, 2008 -- Ted and Schera visit Brunton Cmetry near Piper City, Illinois. Ten visits the Piper City Library. Seven Pulver graves and three Snider graves are confirmed. All seven Pulver names are inscribed on a single obelisk.