WEDDING WEDNESDAY
James/John Franklin Peer marries Mary Ann Hill- October 25, 1860 Morgan, Illinois
This photo was taken on their wedding day
James/John was aged 26 and Mary Ann was 20. I do not have information on how the young couple met but I do know that the Peer family owned tobacco plantations in Virginia and Mary Ann was descended from the Hill Family of Virginia who were also tobacco farmers. Ancestors from both sets of families arrived on North American shores by 1630.
Sometime between August of 1860 and October of 1860 John/James left his job as a farmer in Hampshire, Virginia with the Wm. J. Poland family (Poland was John/James Mother's maiden name) and traveled to Illinois to wed Mary Ann in her home state at the Morgan County Courthouse.
Morgan County Courthouse
It is unknown to me in my research if James/John served in the Civil War but a few clues point me in the direction that he did fight for the Confederacy:
Although married in 1860 the Peer's had no children until 1864. Was this perhaps because James/John was away at war? Perhaps-but for which side? I have come across a John Peer fighting for the Confederacy however I cannot yet make the link through verification of Civil War records. At the time of John/James death a letter from Los Angeles County claimed he did indeed serve in the Civil War as a Confederate Soldier. His headstone also reflects that he is a U.C.V (United Confederates Veteran).
The Peer's named their first child Virginia Lee Peer-an obvious nod to John/James home- the slave state of Virginia and General Robert E. Lee. (General Lee was also from Virginia.) After the Civil War ended the Peer's relocated to Kansas which was a common area for Confederate sympathizers to settle in post war.
The above photo also gives me several clues. James/John's longer hair style and Mary Ann's hoop skirt and type of jewelery all seem to reflect a distinct Southern influence.
After the Peer's migrated to LaBette County Kansas, John/James' occupation is listed as "Blacksmith" in the 1870 census. John/James was 36. By this time his wife Mary Ann had borne two daughters, Virginia (Vonnie) and Martha May "Mattie". In 1871 Mary "Mamie" was born in Kansas. In 1875 my GGrandmother Clara Ellen arrived and after that baby boy George completed the family in 1880.
In 1891 Mary Ann Hill Peer died at the age of 51. I have been unable to find an obituary as to Mary Ann's cause of death at such an early age. At the time of her death Mary Ann was a mother of five children ranging in age from 27 to 11. She had been married to John/James for 31 years. Mary Ann was buried in lot C-91 in the Mound Valley Cemetery in LaBette, Kansas on April 9, 1891. There is not a tombstone or any kind of marker.
It is not yet known if John/James Peer ever remarried. John/James is listed in the 1900 census as living with his son George Peer in Seneca, Newton, MO. He moved again to Los Angeles, CA sometime after Mary Ann's passing presumably to be near his daughter Clara Ellen.
He died in Los Angeles in September of 1927 at Los Angeles General Hospital at the age of 93. John/James F. Peer is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA. UDC Plot Lot 551 Section 6.
Photo Courtesy of Brian Olsen
No comments:
Post a Comment