Saturday, January 25, 2014

Robert N. Longwell

Here's another interesting record, this time in 1834. A Mr. Robert N. Longwell was indicted for bigamy. It says he was previously of Wheatfield twp, Indiana, PA. He married a Ruth Rench in Huntingdon Co, PA on 2 Feb 1831 and then married an Isabella McFeeters in 1834. A William McFeeters was one of the sworn.

William & Elizabeth Robeson of Armstrong, Indiana, PA

Going through the Indiana County, PA Quarter Sessions today, I was reminded why it pays never to be surprised by anything that happened in the past. I was scanning, attempting to see if I could find anything of interest regarding some related families (the McGinnities). I found a bond out for the arrest of an Elizabeth Robeson in 1810, "late of Armstrong twp, Indiana, PA" for "fornication and bastardy". As I read on, I found the accused other party was a "William Robeson". I was attempting to make sense of this (especially since another Robeson was signing off on the charges) and presumed perhaps they had gotten married or he was her brother in law, but the truth was slightly different. In William's arrest warrant, he's identified as "her uncle". The wording is mostly what gets me. "She allowed him to beget a male child upon her body". Perhaps she did, and perhaps not. I don't know at this point who either of these people were, nor what became of them or their child, but I do wonder...