Referenced in the family
Angeline French
b. 1853
Life
Records & Research
Angeline F. French was born 30 April 1853 in Jackson County, Iowa, a daughter of Joseph French (1823-1900) and his first wife Catharine Sinkey (1827-1854), who died when Angeline was two weeks old; she was raised by her grandmother in Jones County. On 15 February 1872 she married Andrew Gracey (1849-1904) at Scotch Grove, Iowa, and the couple moved to Clay County, living in and near Peterson. After Andrew's death in 1904 she married Ahab DeWitt of Monticello on 19 November 1923. She died 6 October 1941 at Peterson, Clay County, Iowa, and is buried in Oakland Cemetery, Peterson, Clay County, Iowa. Identity is firmly anchored by an exact match on birth date, birthplace, father, mother, and sister across her FindAGrave memorial (which transcribes her 1941 obituary) and her father's memorial.
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Angeline F. French was born 30 April 1853 in Jackson County, Iowa, matching the family report's birth date exactly and adding a birthplace.
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Angeline French died 6 October 1941 at Peterson, Clay County, Iowa.
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Angeline French is buried in Oakland Cemetery, Peterson, Clay County, Iowa.
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Angeline French married Andrew Gracey (1849-1904) on 15 February 1872 at Scotch Grove, Iowa; the couple later moved to Clay County and lived in and near Peterson.
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After Andrew Gracey's death, Angeline married Ahab DeWitt of Monticello, Iowa, on 19 November 1923; he died 4 April 1940.
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Angeline's full sister was Charlotte French DeMoss (1851-1903), also a daughter of Joseph French and Catharine Sinkey.
Differs from the report
residence: report says “Dossier marriage finding stated Angeline 'married Andrew Gracey and lived in Clay Township, Jones County, Iowa.'”, records indicate “Her obituary states the couple married at Scotch Grove (Jones County) and then 'moved to Clay County, ... spending the remainder of their lives in and near Peterson' (Clay County, not Clay Township of Jones County).”. 'Clay Township, Jones County' came from her father Joseph French's biography, not from Angeline's own residence; corrected. The coincidental overlap of the word 'Clay' (Clay Township in Jones County vs. Clay County) likely caused the conflation. findagrave ↗
Not yet confirmed — probable matches and family lore, shown for research. Treat with caution.
likely sibling.spouse: report “Dossier stated Charlotte French married 'Richard DeMoss of Jackson County, Iowa.'” vs. found “Sources confirm the sister as Charlotte French DeMoss (married surname DeMoss) but do not state the husband's given name was 'Richard' nor that he resided in Jackson County, Iowa.”. Sibling relationship and DeMoss married surname are confirmed; the specific husband name/county were unsupported in the fetched sources and need an independent record (marriage license or census) to confirm.
Open questions (4)
- The place of Angeline's 1923 marriage to Ahab DeWitt is not specified (he was 'of Monticello,' Jones County, Iowa).
- Whether Angeline and Andrew Gracey had biological children is not documented; the obituary names only a foster son, Abraham Adams of Ojibwa, Wisconsin.
- Charlotte French DeMoss's husband's given name (claimed 'Richard' in the original dossier) and his asserted Jackson County, Iowa residence were not verified in the sources fetched and should be checked against a marriage or census record.
- The obituary lists half-siblings of Angeline (Mrs. Jane Bills of Wisconsin, Mrs. Minni Bender of Wyoming Iowa, and a half-brother James French of Wyoming, Iowa) from Joseph French's later marriage; these do not all obviously align with the father's memorial half-sibling list (William Newton French, Mary Joanna French DeMoss, James Myron French) and warrant reconciliation.
Sources consulted (4)
- Angeline F French Gracey Dewitt (1853-1941) - Find a Grave Memorial (fetched; includes transcribed 1941 obituary, Peterson Patriot) · findagrave
- Joseph French (1823-1900) - Find a Grave Memorial (father; biography and family links) · findagrave
- FindAGrave memorial search results for Angeline Gracey, b.1853 d.1941, Iowa · findagrave
- Janet and Robert Wolfe Genealogy - Joseph French page (returned HTTP 403, not readable) · website
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