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Moving on, to the comparatively less
complicated state of Ohio!
The supposed five sons of James Shasteen left Amherst and Rockbridge Counties., VA
circa 1812-1817. The
1819 personal property tax rolls of Gallia County, Ohio list Robert
Shasteen, John Shasteen, and William Shasteen and
they appear to have spent some time in Gallia Co., OH on their
way to Ross Co. OH. There is a John Shasteen from Gallia County
that was listed as a War of 1812 Veteran in the Roster of Ohio Soldiers in the
War of 1812 who served as a private under the Roll of Captain John Roadannour's
Mounted Company (from Gallia County) which served from August 1, to September 4,
1813. Gallia County is in southeast Ohio and was on the migration route to Ross
County. John
Shasteen also is shown as marrying Anna (probably Hannah) Whitten on April 8,
1813 in Gallia Co., OH. The Gallipolis Gazette on April 9, 1819 advertised
letters to be picked up for Robert Shasteen and April 21 of 1820 for William
Shasteen and Ephraim Hobbs (assumed to be the Ephraim Hobbs that married Sara
Shasteen.
Brothers Robert, James, and John appear in the
Union Township, Ross Co., 1820 census and William
and Edmund
appeared in the Richland Township. Henry Co. OH 1830 census. To date, not much
interaction between the families has been determined although it seems to be
developing in research in the later years, including the Civil War and migration to
IL. The fact that William and Edmund were not accounted for in
1820 may indicate they were living in the homes of the three Ross
County brothers. Additionally, the death location and dates for the parents,
James Shasteen and Phoebe Padgett Shasteen have not yet been
determined.
Henry County History & Tidbits
See also Shasteens of Henry & Defiance
Counties, Ohio
James Shasteen born 1815 is the remaining
significant unplaced Ohio Shasteen. The brother James (b circa 1785) that was in Ross County in 1820 appears to have
been married to a Martha who remained there in 1830, so the
parentage of James b 1815 is open to discussion at this point.
Perhaps Martha's middle name was Frances?
A key point is that James b 1815 first appears in the 1840
census of the town of Independence in Richland Township, Henry County at which time he has both James A. Shasteen, Jr. (b
1847) and Jackson (b 1826) living with him, leading
many to suspect James b 1815 and Jackson b 1833 are
brothers. However family bible records place Jackson as a son of Edmund with no
reference to James (b 1815). Jackson does not appear in the 1860 census, is in
Ottawa County for the 1870 census, and back to Richland Township for the 1880
census.
Historical Atlas of the World, Illustrated Title
Page Constructed by A. Keith Johnston F.R.G.S. Prof. H.D. Rogers of Boston,
Edw. Weller F.R.G.S. and Other Eminent Geographers. Compiled and Editied by
Charles H. Jones Assisted by Theodore F. Hamilton. H.H. Hardesty & Co.
Publishers, Lakeside Building Chicago 1875.
"James
Shasteen - son of James and Frances Shasteen, was born in Virginia in
1815. He was married in Ohio in 1838 to Mary A., daughter of
Henry and Mary Stichler, of Germany where she was born in 1815. The children
of this couple are: James, Mary A., Harvey A., Phoebe, and Franklin. Mr
Shasteen settled in Henry County in 1826. He has filled the offices of
Justice of the Peace and assessor. His three sons belonged to the Union
Army. Peter to the 14th Regiment O.V.I.; was wounded at
Chickamauga, and died from the effects in 1863. Emanuel belonged to the 9th
Regiment, A.C., and also died in the army. James [the son] belonged
to the 184th Regiment, O.V.I. He survived the war. James
Shasteen, post office, Napoleon. Business, farmer. Residence, napoleon
Township, section 10. --
The Maumee Valley Chronicle (a list of early settlers)
These people settled in what is now HIGHLAND TWP., DEFIANCE CO.: 1826 James
and Frances SHASTEEN and James Jr., Napoleon Twp.
History of Maumee River Basin pg 537 (from Franklin
Shasteen) "Edward & William Shasteen came in 1834 to Richland
Township, Defiance Co., OH."
The Chestnut Tree, a Publication of The Pierre
Chastain Association - "1827 William and Edward Shastine listed on
Richland Township, Defiance County, 1827 tax list."
1835 Land Grants/Purchases Edmund Shasteen 80
acres, William ShaNteen 40 acres in Henry Co OH townships of Adams and Richland
respectively. - (Research in progress on title transfers)
The NW Ohio Shasteens needless to say still require some
research (as do the Ross County Shasteens, and as I suppose, they all will
always), and probably a bit of luck!
Ross County History & Tidbits
Ross County Courthouse from postcard circa 1915-1930 (Home of the
records)
A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio 1917 (ASHORC)
2 Volume set by Lyle S. Evans, hardbound, 934 pages, everynames index, pages
918-919.
Harrison Shasteen is one of the oldest living sons of Union
Township, where he was born three quarters of a century ago, and after a
long and active and honorable business career is now enjoying peaceful
retirement at his home in his native township. Born March 10, 1841, he is a
son of James S. R. Shasteen, a native of Virginia, and a grandson of
Robert Shasteen, a native of the same commonwealth. Robert
Shasteen brought his family to Ohio in 1814, when his son James was
seven years of age. They settled in Ross County, and thus established a
family that has had a continuous relationship with this county for more than
a century. James Shasteen grew up in the county, and after reaching manhood
engaged in farming. He was a resident of Union Township until his death, at
the age of sixty years, while his wife passed away at the age of fifty-nine.
They were the parents of two sons [three actually]. One of these, [Francis]
Marion, was a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil war, was
captured by the Confederates and died while a prisoner in Andersonville.
Reared on the home farm, Harrison Shasteen left home at an early age
and gained his success by relying on his own enterprise. After the war he
went to Pennsylvania, spending three years in the oil fields there, but with
that exception has been a resident of Ross County for almost half a century
continuously. For twenty years he was grain buyer for the Mansfield
Mills.Mr. Shasteen was three times married. His first wife was Nancy
Minear, daughter of Solomon and Charity (Noble) Minear. Mrs Shasteen
died at the age of twenty-three, leaving one son, Walter. His second wife
was Mary J. Rowe, a daughter of Thomas Rowe. When she passed away at the age
of twenty-eight she left two children, Marion[error, Mario died, Nettie Mae
lived] and Harry. The present Mrs. Shasteen before her marriage was Augusta
Sauerbrei, a daughter of William and Lena Sauerbrei. Mr. and Mrs. Shasteen
have four children: Lena, James W., John Logan and Viola. The family are
members of the German Evangelical church and Mr. Shasteen is a republican.
Williams Bros. History of Ross and Highland Counties page 262.
"William Shasteen removed from Rockbridge Co., VA., and settled on
the Ohio River below Gallipolis, (county seat of Gallia Co, OH
located in the extreme southern border of Ohio about 40% of the way west
from the east border) ) where he remained two years. In 1819 he
moved to Ross Co., and settled in Union (Township), on the place now owned
by Jacob Slager, then owned by Ezekiel Thompson. He died here in about
1853. His son, William, born in
Virginia in 1814, has resided in the vicinity since his settlement in
1819." No William has been located in that time frame in Ross Co. (There is
a William that settled briefly near Edmund in Henry Co per the 1830 and 1840
census, but no indication that he was in Ross Co.) Allen in TCT article
speculated that this was Robert the father and William the
son. This makes sense, but there is the possibility that it was William
the father and William the son, with Robert being a brother of
William, either the father or the son.
Martha Gerber Rittinger in
her book
SCHLAGER/SLAGER FAMILY HISTORY includes a chapter 8 on William Shasteen,
ca 1814--June 14, 1902 and others in the Shasteen line from which I quote the
following (my emphasis in bold, and comments in {}:
"In 1819,
the personal property tax roll of Gallia County, Ohio records Robert
Shasteen, John [James] Shasteen, and William Shasteen. The 1820 Census
shows households of Robert Chasteen, John Chasteen, Abraham Shasteen {I
researched this and believe it to be Abraham Shanton on the same page as
John and Robert, age 45+ who died 1822 and is buried in the Shanton
Graveyard, Deerfield Township, Ross County, OH.}, and James Chasteen
living in Union Township, Ross County."
"On June 9, 1827
the heirs of Allison Clark Looker sold a tract of 30 acres on the waters of
Crooked Creek in Pike County to Edward Shasteen. At the May Term of
the Court of Common Pleas of Ross County in 1828 John Swindler recovered a
judgment against William Shasteen, James Shasteen, and Edmund
Shasteen for the sum of $165.30 in action on the case. Thereupon, John Tarlton, Sheriff of Ross County, levied on the 30 acre tract of Edmund
Shasteen lying on the waters of Crooked Creek, and on September 29, 1828
the Sheriff sold the tract to John Swindler. It appears that
Edward/Edmund Shasteen and William Shasteen then left, appearing
in the 1830 Census of Henry County, later known as Defiance County, Ohio.
James dies or disappears prior to the 1830 Census, leaving his widow and
children."
Ramblings
& Reflections on Ross County Shasteens
The majority of the Ohio Shasteens are descended from
Robert in Ross County and Edmund and James b 1815, parentage in question in
Henry & Defiance County. (see Shasteen Family
Gravestones - This provides a pretty clear way to follow the descendants
and their dispersion from Ohio, bearing in mind that not all are listed.)
Intermarriage and looking after extended relatives appears to be quite common in
early Ross County, and you will see familiar surnames like Minear, Noble, Slager,
Sturgeon, Whitten and others popping up repeatedly in different households in the census
reports through 1880 as offspring and relatives experience poor luck of varying
sorts.
The Shasteens continued, in both NW Ohio and Ross
County to name their offspring after other family members. As you have seen if
you have explored this site, James is at the top of my least favored names at
this point. It should also be emphasized that the Civil War took it's toll on
the Shasteens, like many other families as can be seen by the number that served
and died as a result of the war on the "Gravestones" link.
As on many other
days, I realize all the answers to all the
questions will never be found, that this is a never ending pursuit, and with
that thought in mind, I am off to pursue another nugget of information for
today.
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