Father: James Hastings, Sr.
Mother: Susannah *****
Spouse: Jennie Amanda Nelson
m: 13/May/1866 - La Salle Co., IL
Child-1: Elmer E. - b: 13/Feb/1867 - Waterford Twp., Washington
Co., OH
d: 23/Oct/1872 - bur: Lebanon Ch. Cem., Bristol
Twp., Morgan Co., OH
2: John
Nelson - b: 31/Jan/1869 - Waterford Twp., Washington Co., OH
d: 21/Dec/1939 - Denver, CO
m: Ella Wood - 4/May/1890 - Gentry Co., MO
3: Lilian
Annetta - b: 17/Oct/1871 - Waterford Twp., Washington Co., OH
d: 10/Mar/1938 - Denver, CO
4: Eva
O. - b: 1/Dec/1873 - Waterford Twp., Washington Co., OH
d: 28/Jan/1923 - Taylor Co., IA - bur: West Fairview
Cem.
m: Frank Wilt - 14/Sep/1898 - Union Co., IA
5: William
Arthur - b: 5/May/1876 - Zanesville, Muskingum Co., OH
d: 5/May/1952 - Denver, CO - bur: Crown Hill Cem.
m: Evelyn Ingham - 28/Jun/1900 - Creston, Union Co., IA
6: James
Warren
Biographical Details:
Little definitive is known of the life of James Hastings, Jr., beyond a few bare factual details. According to census records of 1900, he was born in March of 1841; however, his tombstone indicates March 23, 1837. The earlier date seems more likely; moreover, it is likely that he was born in Harrison County, Ohio, but this is not entirely certain. He was definitely listed as resident in his father's household in both the 1850 and 1860 US Census for Morgan County, Ohio. Subsequent to this, there is evidence that James, Jr., and his father James, Sr., moved to La Salle County, Illinois, sometime after 1860. Accordingly, James Hastings, Jr., and Jennie Nelson were married on May 13, 1866, in La Salle County by Rev. J. Hartman. This is confirmed both by family tradition and civil records. In addition, the marriage license also included an affadavit signed by James Hastings, Sr., attesting that both parties to the marriage were above the age of consent. Furthermore, this document identifies the older James Hastings as "Sen" and the younger as "2nd". This almost certainly indicates a close family relationship; however, the use of this designation for the younger individual rather than the more common appellation of "Jun" might have been to avoid confusion with at least two other members of the Hastings family who were concurrently living in this same community and both named James. (In particular, his first cousin, James Hastings, son of John Hastings, Jr., was of similar age as James, Jr.; another first cousin, James Hastings, son of William Hastings, was some twenty years his senior.) According to existing birth records, Elmer E., the oldest son of James, Jr., and Jennie Nelson Hastings, was born in Waterford Township in Washington County, Ohio, in February of 1867. Clearly, this implies that James and Jennie Hastings returned to southeastern Ohio shortly after their marriage in Illinois. Unfortunately, Elmer died as a young child a few years later. However, these same civil records indicate that their second son, John Nelson, was also born in the same locality. This is further made clear from corresponding census records which show that the family was resident in Waterford Township of Washington County in 1870 and that, in addition to their two young sons, James, Sr., was also living with them. (Indeed, the population schedule included the explicit annotation "Lives with Son" to designate the occupation of James, Sr.) Moreover, with the exception of one daughter, it is further known that all of the other children of James Hastings, Sr., i.e., the brothers and sisters of James, Jr., were living in relatively close proximity in either in Morgan or Washington County at this time. In particular, 1870 census records indicate that Adam B. Hastings and his wife, Mary E. Jackson Hastings, were living with their three young children in the household of her parents, Isaac and Sarah Jackson, also in Waterford Township. Furthermore, these two households appeared close together on the same page of the population schedule, which is a good indication that they were resident on neighboring farms. Nevertheless, in later life John Nelson Hastings repeatedly stated his birthplace in census records as Illinois, which has also been the accepted family tradition. However, contemporary documentary evidence clearly shows that this is erroneous and that for some reason he was misinformed as to his birthplace. Similarly, early Ohio birth records confirm that the two daughters, Lily Annetta and Eva O., were born in Waterford Township between 1870 and 1875. Again, there is some minor discrepancy in dates and spellings of names between civil records, subsequent census records, and family tradition, but the identity of the family remains clear. Researchers of the Runkle/Ingham family have stated that William Arthur, the third son of James and Jennie A Hastings, was born in Zanesville, Ohio.1 If this is the case, then presumably the family left Washington County prior to his birth in 1876. The motivation for such a move is not known. Indeed, according to the 1870 population schedule James Hastings, Jr., was a relatively prosperous farmer having real estate valued at five thousand dollars and personal property valued at one thousand five hundred dollars. Although merely speculation, it is possible that the family suffered from the economic distress associated with the Panic of 1873 and was forced off of the land. Subsequently, they moved from Ohio to Missouri, since the population schedule of the 1880 US Census for Gentry County, Missouri, clearly shows them resident in the town of Stanberry. Furthermore, the population schedule indicates the occupation of James, Jr., as "laborer". Within this context, the town of Stanberry had only been established in the fall of 1879 as a division point for a new railroad link that was being built by the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroad Company between central Missouri and the Union Pacific Yards in Council Bluffs, Iowa. As such, it was a "boomtown" and attracted job seekers from all over the country.2 Again, the 1870's had been a time of severe worldwide financial panic and depression and it is likely that the Hastings family moved to Stanberry for economic reasons. However, by the time their fourth and youngest son, James Warren, was born in 1885, James, Jr., had returned to the farm and the family was living in Washington Township in Nodaway County, Missouri. This is confirmed by Missouri birth records, but the exact location of their farm is not known; however, it was likely five to ten miles southwest of the town of Stanberry. According to family tradition, James, Jr., and his wife, Jennie, separated about 1890. The cause for this rupture in their marital relationship is unknown, but evidently he returned to Morgan County, Ohio, and evidently remained there for the rest of his life. This is supported by the population schedule of the 1900 US Census for Morgan County, which clearly listed James Hastings as a brother-in-law living in the household of Robert H. and Catharine Conn. Catharine was James' sister and less than two years older than he was. She and her husband were then living in Center Township. In addition, James' younger brother, Adam, was also living nearby in the same township. This suggests that these siblings remained close throughout their lives. James Hastings, Jr., died in Morgan County on December 24, 1905, and was buried in the Lebanon Methodist Church Cemetery in Bristol Township.Source Notes and Citations:
1. "Evelyn INGHAM (Charles Kinsey INGHAM , Mary RUNKLE , William 'Squire Billy') was born 31 May 1877 in Thayer, Union Co, Iowa. She died 7 Nov 1969 in Douglas Co, Colorado and was buried 12 Nov 1969 in Crown Hill Cem, Denver, Denver, Colorado.
Evelyn married William Arthur HASTINGS on 28 Jun 1900 in Creston, Union Co, Iowa. William was born 5 May 1876 in Zanesville, Muskingum, Ohio. He died 5 May 1952 in Denver, Denver Co, Colorado and was buried in Crown Hill Cem., Denver, Denver Co, Colorado." (The Runkle Family Association, P.O. Box 14, Ringoes, NJ, 08551,"Descendants of William 'Squire Billy' RUNKLE", homepages.rootsweb.com/~runkle/william/pafg05.htm, 2002-4.)
back to bio.2. K. Bovaird, N. Newman, E. Miller, B. Phillips, N. Summa, and R. Pierce, Once Upon a Railroad, Stanberry, Missouri 1879-1979, Inter-Collegiate Press, Shawnee Mission, KS, 1979: pg. 10.
"The Council Bluffs, Omaha Division of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroad, was chartered and the first rail laid in Daviess County on April 5, 1871, on the Chillicothe and Omaha line. Track was soon completed to Gallatin; and before the end of the year, track was built as far as Pattonsburg, where it stopped and remained the terminal point until 1879.
After several years of argument between railroad officials and the people, a decision as to the location was finally reached. In the fall of 1879, the line was completed to Omaha, and in October of that year, was opened to through traffic.
The Western Improvement Company came along the new railroad, then known as the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific, to view the land for the location of a townsite amid the cornfields at a distance of 283 miles from St. Louis and 116 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa. In 1879, the townsite of 120 acres was acquired from J. J. Stansbury, R. E. Moran, William Harkrider and James Brown.
The land was surveyed by a Wabash civil engineer, a platt made and marked into blocks, streets and lots. The townsite was named Stanberry by the president of the railroad in honor of J. J. Stansbury.
It was agreed than Stanberry would be a division point on the line and that permanent buildings, a roundhouse, machine shops and various buildings required to carry on their operation successfully, were to be constructed and maintained by them. With this announcement, confidence was established. Thus many businesses and homes seemed to spring up overnight.
The lot sale was advertised for September 25, 1879, and on that day 120 lots were sold, and the village of Stanberry was started.
After the sale, an agent for the Western Improvement Company arrived and continued to sell lots. By January 1, 1880, 285 lots had been sold."
back to bio.
Additional Citations:
3. 1870 US Census Population Schedule for Washington County, Ohio, National Archives, Washington DC: pgs. 466B-467A, (microfilm: roll M593_1279; imgs. 426-7).4. 1880 US Census Population Schedule for Gentry County, Missouri, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 444A, (microfilm: roll T9_687; img. 219).
5. 1900 US Census Population Schedule for Morgan County, Ohio, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 27A, (microfilm: roll T623_1309; img. 55).
6. Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Illinois State Archives & Illinois Genealogical Society, Springfield, IL, 2014. ("Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900", www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/marriage.html)
7. Birth Records - Probate Court, Washington County, Marietta, OH: Bk. 1, pgs. 90-1, 186-7, and 294-5, (LDS Family History Library microfilm: roll # 0941955, Salt Lake City, UT, 2009). (Private correspondence with Julia Lambert)
8. Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Missouri State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Jefferson City, MO, (Nodaway County, microfilm roll C4972; pg. 64; No. 1575).
9. Lebanon Church Cemetery, Morgan County, Ohio (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1988371&CScn=Lebanon&CScntry=4&CSst=37&CScnty=2097&, continuously updated).
10. West Fairview Cemetery, Taylor County, Iowa (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=96633&CScn=West+Fairview&CScntry=4&CSst=14&CScnty=633&, continuously updated).
11. Melba Hastings, "Hastings Family Genealogical Charts and Family Group Sheets", 1970, unpublished.
12. Jean Ann Lavelle, private correspondence.