52 Ancestors: #8 Sara Frances Conover

Sara Frances Conover

1848 - 1924

My Conover line is one of which I have conducted no research.  None.

So, perhaps it is time that I did.  Her husband, Henry Clay Paris, I have written about.  I do know that Sara's parents were Peter and Melinda Pierce Conover both died in Kansas around 1900.   Sara was living in Menard County, IL when she married Henry Clay Paris.   Sara named her children thus: Volney Peter, Decatur Ray, Joseph B., Ernest Claude, Arthur Henry, Mary E and Myrtle Mae.

Using the 1870 U.S. Federal Census I find Peter and Malinda Conover in Township 17 Range 7 West, Menard County, Illinois enumerated on the 7th day of June.

Here is the household:

Household                                  Gender                   Age                          Birthplace
Peter Conover                               M                        45                            Kentucky
Malinda Conover                           F                         43                            Illinois
Mary Conover                               F                         18                            Illinois
Cyntha Conover                            F                         15                             Illinois
Charles Conover                           M                         13                            Illinois
George Conover                           M                          9                             Illinois
Hattie Conover                              F                          3                              Illinois
Mary Pierce                                  F                          80                            Tennessee
George Conover                           M                         24                            Illinois

No relationships are given in this census.  Mary Pierce is most likely the mother of Malinda. George could be a son but more likely a nephew since he is not listed among the minor children.

Out of this household, only the name Peter and Mary are in common with the names Sara gave to her children.  Volney and Decatur are unusual names, are they clues to grandfathers or uncles close to either Sara or Henry?  

Going back 20 more years to the U.S. Federal Census for 1850 to look for Peter and Malinda Conover; they are in Mason County, IL; they have two children in the household, Sarah F age 4 and Martha Jane age 2.  Living with them are Jonathan C. age 53 who was born in KY.  This could be Peter's father.  Viola Conover age 14 is listed after Johnathan.  This could be Peter's younger sister.  Perhaps Peter's mother died in 1850. I searched by last name only and found Mary Conover, age 62, a married women who died of Pleurisy in Menard County, IL in the 1850 Mortality Schedule for persons who died before the 1st of June.

This could  be a clue or just a coincidence.
When I checked the Pre-1916 Death Index in Illinois for the surname Conover, the earliest year of death shown is 1880. This is not helpful for finding the name of Jonathan's deceased wife.

I checked the marriage index for a groom named Conover and a bride named Pierce:

Home • Departments • Archives • Databases • Illinois Statewide Marriage Index

ILLINOIS STATE ARCHIVES

Illinois Statewide Marriage Index

Search Criteria: Conover and Pierce

Groom                             Bride                            Date                 Volume Page Lic No. County

CONOVER, ABEL S      PIERCE, MARY L      1855-05-30      II           8     3175     PEORIA
CONOVER, WILLIAM  PIERCE, LOUISA       1845-08-28                                       SANGAMON

I see two Conover males did in fact marry a Pierce female.  Neither marriage is early enough to help me find the parents of Peter Conover.  

Interestingly, I didn't find the marriage of Peter and Malinda Pierce in the database I searched, they were reportedly married in 1845 or 1846.

I need to Google and find a website on Conover Genealogy and see if I can find some more clues.  Here I found Peter Conover and Malinda Pierce.  A pop-up pedigree shows Peter's father as Jonathan Coombs Conover and Martha D Bergen.  This website chronicles my Conover line. I now need to prove what I see.

Peter Conover b. circa May 1822 d. 1900	Jonathan Coombs Cownover b. 15 Apr 1797 d. 16 Sep 1856	Peter Cownover b. 9 Feb 1769 d. 15 May 1835
		Hannah Coombs b. 5 Jun 1770 d. 15 Oct 1846
	Martha D. Bergen b. 14 Jun 1801 d. 9 Sep 1839	George I. Bergen b. 16 Jun 1764 d. Feb 1825
		Rebecca Coombs b. circa 1772 d. 1846

Research never ends when the topic is genealogy.  I created a research log in Excel and filled one out for Peter Conover.  As I find new information I can add it to my log.  I have a lot of research to complete on this line.