DEATH: 06 MAR 1925 • Aledo, Mercer, IL
MARRIED: 9 Sep 1880 • Frederick Carroll
Amelia (Minnie) Ann Rush was born Oct 3, 1862 in Toledo, Ohio. Her father was Luther Rush, born in Ohio, 1815-unk. Her mother was Helen Canfield, born in New York, 1838-1919. The only record I could locate for this couple is a marriage record:
Wood County, Ohio, Marriages Index, 1774-1993
For Luther Rush (45) & Helen Canfield (22)
Minnie was born during the second year of the Civil War. Ohio was both politically and logistically important to the war effort. Ohio also played an important part in the Underground Railroad prior to the war, and remained a haven for escaped and runaway slaves during the war.
The third most populous state in the Union at the time, Ohio raised nearly 320,000 soldiers for the Union army, third behind only New York and Pennsylvania in total manpower contributed to the military. Several leading generals were from Ohio, including Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and Philip H. Sheridan. Five Ohio-born Civil War officers would later serve as the President of the United States. The state was spared many of the horrors of war as only two minor battles were fought within its borders. Wikipedia
Luther Rush probably died while Minnie was a girl and her mother Helen moved the family to Mercer County, Pennsylvania, where she married for a second time (Jessie Deeds) and had several more children.
The 1880 census finds Minnie in Findley, Mercer County, Pennsylvania at the age of 18, working as a "domestic" in the home of Roxanna Montgomery, who was the "proprietor of a store". She was a widow with a 5 year old son named Elton. Minnie was probably a live-in nanny/servant who helped care for the boy.
Minnie lived in Findley, Mercer, PA at the 1880 census.
Map of PA for perspective. Mercer County borders Ohio.
Fred Carroll was the youngest son of John Carroll and Mary Margaret Rhodes of Pennsylvania. The Carroll family has deep roots in Pennsylvania, beginning with Captain William Carroll (1745-1834).
from History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, John Morris Co, Chicago, Ill.
When William Carroll first came to Maryland he was a Weaver and was employed in setting up and supervising the operation of the looms of his uncle Charles Carroll of Carrollton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. It is also stated that he assisted in the settlement of conflicting boundary lines of a large tract of land patented to Charles Carroll, but claimed to be within the tract of William Penn. Later he did some weaving for the Wakefields and others in their locality and in this way became acquainted with Joanna (Wakefield). He married her when she was 16 years of age. He always claimed that he was a nephew of Charles Carroll and this was an undoubted fact.
At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, William Carroll enlisted as a private serving in the Cumberland militia, the Pennsylvania regulars and was one of the crew manning the armed boat Tormentor, and was mentioned as being in active service from 1777 and 1778. After the war he moved his family to Pennsylvania near Fort Pitt. In about 1798, the family moved to Mercer County, Pennsylvania where he remained for the rest of his life, settling on a farm just west of the present village of Millbrook. Captain Carroll died about 1834. Joanna survived him for several years both are buried in the old Millbrook cemetery.
From: Carrolls of Mercer County, Pennsylvania - by Emerson Carroll - 1931-32
1860 Map of Worth County, PA. Fred Carroll was listed as a farm
laborer on the John Carroll farm in the 1880 census
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| Lineage from Capt. William Carroll to Kate Amelia Carroll Miller |
Amelia Ann Rush and Frederick F. Carroll were married on September 9, 1880 in Mercer, Pennsylvania. Minnie was 18 and Fred was 22.
Minnie and Fred lived in Millbrook, on the John Sutton Carroll farm, where Fred worked as a farm laborer. They had three children in Millbrook.
- Clinton-1881 (died before the age of 2)
- Carlyle-1883
- Charles Samuel-1884
From 1880-1920 the Midwest was transformed from a mostly agrarian society to an industrial society. We see this in Fred Carroll's transition from a farmer in 1880 to a salesman in 1900, as the family moved over the next 15 years. From 1885-1900 the family lived in a variety of locations in the Midwest before finding relative stability in Viola, Illinois. Their family also grew:
Haigler, Nebraska:
- Jeanette-died at birth
- Lucille Ann (Lucy) - 1887
- Caithern (Kate) Amelia (my great grandmother) - 1888
- Alice - 1891 (died at the age of 2)
- Virginia Mary - 1892
- Fred - 1894
- Helen Margaret - 1897
- John - 1900 (born right after the 1900 Census)
The 1900 census finds the Carroll family living in Mercer County, Illinois:
- Fred-42-Peddler (traveling salesman)
- Minnie-37
- Carlyle-17
- Charles-16
- Lucy-12
- Katie-11
- Virginia-7
- Freddie-5
- Helen-2
From 1881 to 1901, Minnie gave birth to ten children, with seven living to adulthood. One died at birth, two died by the age of 2. While the exact cause of their deaths are unknown, infectious diseases such as diarrhea, diphtheria, scarlet fever and tuberculosis dominated as the major causes of death among children.
Childbirth almost always took place in the home, often with the support of a midwife. Midwives learned midwifery as apprentices, observing and helping with deliveries so they could hone their craft.
By the 1910 Census, the family is living in Aledo, Mercer County, Illinois:
- Fred-52-Ditches (laborer)
- Minnie-47-Laundress at a hotel
- Virginia-17
- Helen-12
- John-10
Photo of Aledo, 1914
Mercer County was founded in 1825, with Aledo being the county seat.
It is located along the border of Iowa.
In 1910:
- The average life expectancy for men was 47 years (Fred lived to 73)
- Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub
- Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone
- There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads
- The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph
- The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower
- The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour
- The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year
Kate and Zenas Miller.
I believe I inherited that facial expression.
I don't know what kind of person Minnie was, I have no photos or memories of others to draw from. The facts and records indicate that her life was HARD. But, in addition to being the mother of seven children, a wife, an employee and eventually a grandmother, she was likely a friend, a neighbor, a helper, a confidant, a teacher, just like any other woman.
Fred lived for another 6 years and died on September 26, 1931, when he was 73. They are both buried at the Aledo Cemetery in Mercer County, Illinois.
Father
Fred Carroll
1852-1931
Mother
Minnie Carroll
1862-1925