Hello,

My great-great-great grandmother was Florence Bell Shaw, born October 20, 1863, in Perrysville, Vermillion County, IN, died September 1946 in Danville, IL. She was married to John William Lawlyes. Her death certificate lists her mother as Hannah Shaw and father as unknown. Does anyone know anything about Florence's parents? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ryan

ODD SHE WAS BORN--VERMILLION CO.INDIANA, DIED VERMILLION CO.ILLINOIS, WAS THIS A MISS TYPE-O?

SHE WAS BURIED AS
FLORENCE BELLE LAWLYES
DATE ON MARKER READS
1862,NOT 1863
DIED 9/27/1946
WITH HER SP-- JOHN W.
1856--4/16/1934

A HIRAM E.
1883--1909 ON SAME MARKER
IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW
BURIED IN NICCUM CEM.
WESTVILLE,VERMILLION CO.ILLINOIS

SO WAS SHE BORN IN IND. OR BORN OR ILL.

The two counties are contiguous and one on each side of the Wabash River and in two different states. However, the county in Illinois is spelled with only one letter "L" as VERMILION and the Indiana county has two letters "L" as in VERMILLION.

Perrysville is in Vermillion County,Indiana, and Danville is in Vermilion County, Illinois. If this woman was born in Perrysville, she was born in Indiana.

From Ancestry.com:

Name: Florence Belle Shaw Lawlyes
Birth Date: 20 Oct 1863
Birth Place: Perrysville, Indiana
Death Date: 27 Sep 1946
Death Place: Danville, Vermilion, Illinois
Burial Date: 29 Sep 1946
Burial Place: McKendree Twp., Vermilion, Illinois
Cemetery Name: Niccum
Death Age: 82
Race: White
Marital Status: W
Gender: Female
Mother Name: Hanna Shaw
Spouse Name: John W. Lawlyes
FHL Film Number: 1991350

i understood this,but look on find a grave and you can view her marker,that has birth year as 1862.

The original post by ryturne1 had the birth date as October 1863 and was likely based upon the death certificate which was mentioned in the inquiry. Both death certificates and tombstones can be erroneous their veracity dependent upon the wisdom of the person providing the information. In this instance, the issue was the parents of Florence Belle Shaw/Lawlyes rather than the date of birth or dob. The dob issue may be resolvable by resorting to a review of census data.

The census listings in the 1910 and 1920 Federal Census reports for Florence Lawlyes suggested that she was born in 1862. The 1920 census was enumerated upon 13 January 1920. However, in the 1900 census, enumerated upon 17-21 April 1900, she was listed as 67 years suggesting that she may have been born in 1863 but only if her birthday was prior to the enumeration dates.

I was unable to find this woman listed in any census under her maiden surname of Shaw, if that is correct, and searched for her using the given names of Florence, Bell, and Belle. The fact that she was not listed suggested that there may have been some issue within the family such as relocation or something else.

Given the above, one cannot determine exactly when she was born with the evidence available. It may be that if Florence provided the census information, she may not have known for certain when she was born. Census data is also known to have been rife with errors. This one year issue concerning the date of her birth was not the reason for the original post which addressed the problem of her father's surname. Her mother's given name was Hanna or Hannah. Since the death certificate likely listed the dob as 1863, and it is an official document, I would tend to trust it for the day and month of birth, if not for the year.

i know all to well that is not was ask for

Hello Ryan: I have been scanning census data for clues to the question of your Florence Bell Shaw's parentage. This has become a difficult issue as you no doubt know and I may simply be retracing your research steps in trying to fathom the issue. Here is a lead and perhaps it will ring a bell for you. If not then this lead can be forgotten.

Highland Township has as its principle city, Perrysville, Indiana. In the 1870 Federal Census (Ancestry.com)for Highland Township, Vermillion County, Indiana, p. 1, lines 1-6, and in the household of Asbury D. Beauchamp, age 39, born Indiana, and a minister, was a FLO BELL BEAUCHAMP, born in 1862 in Indiana.

Because of the similarities of the Flo Bell and your Florence Bell, including the year of birth as 1862, I wondered if there was an intervening marriage of your Florence to someone named Shaw. Or, barring that, perhaps Florence was later adopted. Of course, Asbury's wife's name was Nancy and NOT Hannah as you reported the name of your Florence's mother and this is an anomaly in this review. Also, Florence Lawlyes reported in census data that her father and mother were born in Indiana. Beauchamp was born in Indiana. These similarities prove nothing and are merely interesting leads.

I wish that I could do better. Based upon my experience as a family historian, I suspect that there was somehow, a family problem in the past of your Florence. What it may have been remains unknown. I say this because there was no discovery in Indiana of any Hannah (or Hanna) Shaw except one in the household of Hiram Shaw (1860 census for Highland, Vermillion Co., IN) and wife Rachel. This Hannah Shaw was 16 yrs. of age in 1860 and old enough by 1862 (18) to have born a child. I wondered, therefore, if perhaps your Florence may have been the result of a birth without benefit of married parents. I also looked at all Indiana marriage records and found none for a Hannah to a Shaw. It may be that a careful review of all documents in Vermillion County, Indiana, and also in Vermilion County, Illinois, might reveal an answer. I would suggest a review of land deeds, probate records, obituaries, and also a visit to the Illiana Historical and Genealogical Society in Danville, Illinois.

I do wish that I may have been more forthcoming. Good luck with your research.