Sunday, May 12, 2019

The papers of Mrs. Smith Binkley (Bertha May Hadley)

Recently, while cleaning out my husband's grandparents' home, his relatives came across some papers in an envelope labeled as both "mother's papers" and "Mrs. Smith Binkley's personal papers."  Because of my interest in genealogy, these papers were given to me.  I was told the papers had belonged to my husband's great grandfather's second wife Lou Pierson Ford.

These papers have become an interesting puzzle to me for two reasons.  First,  I can not find any family connection between Lou Pierson Ford and Bertha May Hadley Smith (Mrs. Smith Binkley).  According to Lou Ford's marriage records and her death certificate, her mother was named Maggie Sloan.  Second, this envelope contains what appear to be original documents dating from the early 1800s to the 1940s.  While the contents are mostly Warren County, Ohio land documents, included with them is an official handwritten copy of the will of a man named Abraham Kinder dated 1809!  I would be incredibly excited if someone just happened to find a will of someone connected to my family from the early 1800s.

So, what to do with these papers?  I'd love to figure out how "Aunt" Lou came to be in possession of this envelope.  I've briefly researched her tree and found trees of the Smith Binkley family on Ancestry.com.  I know that Lou Pierson was married twice before marrying my husband's great grandfather Ford in 1952.  She and her second husband William Johnson lived in Warren County, Ohio in the 1930s and 40s.  Some papers belonging to William Johnson are in the envelope also.  Is he connected to the Binkley family somehow?  And how do I share this information with Warren County Ohio researchers?  These papers include several family names:  Kinder, Reeder, Robinson, Drake,Chambers, Parker.

I'm trying to sort and label them now and will probably try to scan some of the documents for posting here.  However, I've noticed that just being around these old papers
for too long begins to bother my breathing, so I'll need to be careful how much time I spend.  In the meantime,  if you have suggestions or information on any of the families mentioned, please let me know!  If you are a descendant of  Mrs. Smith Binkley, I'd love to hear from you too.

Here's a list of some of the earliest papers relating to Warren County, Ohio:

The Will of Abraham Kinder 1809
Jacob Reeder to Abraham Kinder, Deed 1809
Abraham Kinder to George Kinder, Deed 1809
J Robinson to George Kinder, Deed 1814
John Kinder and wife to George Kinder, Deed 1835
Nancy Drake to John Kinder, Deed of Release 1835
George Kinder, Eliza Kinder, Mary Kinder, Jacob Chambers, Nancy Chambers to John Kinder, 1835
George Kinder and Eliza to John Kinder, 1841