103 LYMAN OATMAN

103 LYMAN⁵ (George⁴, George³, John², Johannes¹), son of George and Ann (Terrill) Oatman, was born ca 1779/80, probably in Arlington, Bennington County, Vermont, and died in 1841 in LaHarpe, Hancock County, Illinois. He married on 27 November 1801 Lucy Hartland, who died 1843 in LaHarpe.

The family left Middletown in 1818 and moved to Locke, New York. They started moving westward around 1830, through Ohio, where Florella was married, and then on through Illinois to Laharpe.

There is no way to list the children of Lyman and Lucy Oatman in order since we don't know all of their birth dates. In 1810, when Lyman and Lucy were still in Middletown, Vermont, the census tells us they had three boys and one girl. Royce was one of the boys, because Rev. Stratton in Captivity of the Oatman Girls gives his birth date as 1809. Either Ann or Lorania was the girl listed in the 1810 census, since Florella is known to have been born later in 1816. At least five, and possibly all, of their children were born in Middletown, Rutland County, Vermont.

The Sperry family was originally from Ripton Parish, Stratford, Connecticut, then the Rochester, New York, area. Joy Sperry was the father of Mary Ann, John and Eben. He settled in Quincy, Illinois, before moving on to LaHarpe.

Children of Lyman and Lucy (Hartland) Oatman:

476 George, b. ca 1807, prob. in Arlington or Middletown, VT; m. 1) Louisann Cook, 27 Dec 1831, in Trumbull Co., OH, prob. in Mecca, OH; 2) Julia A. Cheney.

477 Eli, d. ca 1841

478 Ann, d. bef. 1843; m. John Reynolds. Children, surname Reynolds:

A Hester Ann

B Lyman

479 Royce, b. 1809, Rutland Co., VT; d. 18 Feb 1851*, New Mexico Territory near the present Gila Bend, AZ; m. Mary Ann Sperry, 1832 (she b. 11 Feb 1813, East Bloomfield, NY, and d. 18 Feb 1851, New Mexico Territory, daughter of Joy and Mary (Lamont) Sperry. (*People disagree on the date of the Oatman massacre. Royal B. Stratton, author of The Captivity of the Oatman Girls, gave the date as 19 Mar 1851. Fr. Edward Pettit, S.J., an expert on the subject, gives the date as February 18 of that year.)

480 Harry B., d. bef. 1845; m. Matilda Knapp

481 Lorania, m. Eben Sperry, of LaHarpe, Hancock Co., IL, 28 Jul 1832, Trumbull Co., OH

482 Florella Sarah, b. 17 Feb 1816 (newspaper obituary), or 1818 (gravestone); d. 29 Mar 1899, LaHarpe, Hancock Co., IL; bur. LaHarpe, IL; m. John Sperry, 15 Mar 1832, Mecca, Trumbull Co., OH; he was b. 21 Apr 1811 in E. Bloomfield, NY, son of Joy and Mary (Lamont) Sperry, and d. 12 Jun 1881, in LaHarpe, IL, where he is buried. (In the History of Hancock County he is said to be the son of George and Mary (Lemmon) Sperry.) In LaHarpe he pursued a trade as a gunsmith. Children, all born LaHarpe, IL, surname Sperry:

A Lucy, b. 23 Jul 1834; d. 3 Jan 1912; m. Kinsey Gittings. Children, surname Gittings:

I Lona

II Ella

III Homer

IV Ida

V C. Kirtland

VI Mexico

B Joy (male), b. 1836

C Phoebe Ann, b. 26 Apr 1839; d. 29 May 1913, St. Paul, MN; m. 1) William Green, 17 Dec 1854 (he b. 6 Jan 1833, Barth Island, West Indies; d. 8 May 1914); 2) Benjamin F. Johnson, 19 Oct 1874 in LaHarpe, IL. Children, surname Green:

I Marion, b. ca 1856, LaHarpe, Hancock Co., IL

II Lorenzo Dowd (changed name to Benjamin Frank Green), b. 14 Mar 1858, LaHarpe, Hancock Co., IL; d. 7 Mar 1919, Iowa City, IA; m. Susan Ellen Johnson, 24 Nov 1894 in Ursa, IL. She was b. 16 May 1876, Ursa, IL, d. 27 Aug 1958, Streator, LaSalle Co., IL. Children, surname Green:

a William Herschel, b. 26 Nov 1895, Ursa, IL; m. Clara Nobel

b Benjamin Frank, Jr., b. 20 Sep 1898, Burnside, IL; d. Apr 1960, Iowa City, IA; m. Corrine Bistodeau, 1930.

c Amy Naomi, b. 18 Mar 1903, Burnside, IL; m. 1) Russell Barker Sweet, 24 Dec 1918, Oquaka, IL (d. 1942); 2) Harry E. Anderson in 1947 (d. 1968). She living 1986 in Streator, IL; with 9 children, 13 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren.

d Cora Ellen, b. 4 May 1905, Burnside, IL; d. 18 Mar 1907, Ferris, IL.

e Leona Oneita, b. 4 Apr 1911, Burnside, IL; m. Chester Davis.

III Mary, b. ca 1866, LaHarpe, Hancock Co., IL; d. aft 1920, Kansas City, MO; m. Ed Bennett; lived in St. Paul, MN.

D Amanda E., b. 29 Feb 1840; d. 6 Feb 1911; m. Amos Breed

E Orin, b. 1841; d. in Civil War

F Eli, b. 1843; d. in Civil War

G Simeon, b. 1845

H John Wesley (Sperry), b. 1847; d. 1899, Kansas City, MO

I Victory, b. 1849

J Aaron, b. aft 1850

K Lem, b. aft 1850; d. aft Mar 1899

L Mexico, b. aft 1850; d. aft Mar 1899; m. Doris Landiss. Children, surname Sperry:

I James V., b. 1883, LaHarpe, Hancock Co., IL

Sources: Research by Barbara Hawthorne

Records of Hancock Co., IL

Stratton, Rev. R. B. The Captivity of the Oatman Girls [1858]

"The Oatman Story", Arizona Highways Magazine, Nov 1968

Obituary of Florella Sperry in The LaHarper newspaper, Mar 1899

Mrs. Naomi Sweet Anderson, Streator, IL (desc. of Florella Sperry)

Early Marriages of Trumbull County, 1800 to 1865

History of Hancock County

Illustrated Story of the State of Oregon

Pen Pictures of Representative Men of Oregon

The Oregonian, 8 Jul 1948

San Diego Union, 6 Jan 1985

Marriage Index of Yreka, California

Records of LaHarpe, IL

1900 Federal census of Colorado

Denver, CO, directories

Fr. Edward Pettit, S.J.

Archive record, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT

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(v2008)