THE WEDDING of Maria Jane Elledge and Lewis H. Baldwin on October 2, 1836 was the first wedding of record on what
is known as Hinman Prairie. They began housekeeping in what is now Fairmount township, adjacent to the Hinman and
Boone Elledge settlements. Later, Andrew Alford Elledge, who married Alexander Elledge's widow, Amanda French Elledge,
settled in the same neighborhood.
Five sons and four daughters were born to the Lewis H. Baldwins. First of these was John Boone Baldwin, born April
11, 1838. He married Miss Julia A. Reed, December 2, 1859, with Judge Charles Harrington, minister of the Perry
Baptist church, officiating. She was a native of Taylorville, Ohio, born May 28, 1839, a daughter of William Reed,
who married Miss Keziah Clark of Pennsylvania. The parents came to Pike county early in the year 1859, in which
Julia was married. William Reed died in August, 1878. The John Boone Baldwins had two children, namely, Ellsworth,
who is dead, and Jennie K. Baldwin, who on May 17, 1885, at Perry, married Uriah Hodges, a son of William A. Hodges
and Rebecca Eleanor Elledge, she a daughter of old Uriah Elledge and Catharine Scott. John E. Morton, P. M., performed
the ceremony. She was 23 and he 25 at the time of the wedding. They had three children, namely, Alice, Helen and
Scott Adams Hodges. Alice married James Brown and resides in Banning, California. They have no children. Helen
married Monta Sellards and lives in Oakland California; no children. Scott married Miss Elma Durr, daughter of
Pike county John Durr, and lives in Bakersfield, California. They have three children, Lorene, Junior and Donald,
all at home. Uriah Hodges died more than 40 years ago and Mrs. Hodges lives at Banning, California, with her daughter,
Mrs. Alice Brown. John Boone Baldwin, usually known as "Boone" Baldwin, was in the Civil War, and was
last heard of in the state of Missouri, where he is believed to have died in March, 1879. Julia (Reed) Baldwin
died at Perry January 31, 1926, aged 86 years, eight months and three days.
Charles Wesley Baldwin, second of the Lewis H. Baldwin children, was born January 25, 1840 and died July 21, 1842,
in his third year. He is buried in Hinman cemetery.
Rebecca Jane, third of the Baldwin children, born January 26, 1842, married Silas Reed in Pike county, February
23, 1860, the Rev. Charles Harrington officiating. He was a brother of Julia A. Reed, who had married Rebecca's
brother, John Boone Baldwin, in 1859. He was born in Clermont county, Ohio, October 1, 1831. Attending the common
and graded schools of Clermont county, he entered an academy, later known as Clermont College. Coming to Pike county
with his parents in 1859, he was engaged as school teacher and bookkeeper for some time, later devoting himself
to farming and then to a hotel business in Baylis. He and his wife had six children, namely, William Lewis, Alva,
Lillian Grace, Rosetta J., Roy and Harvey B. Reed.
William Lewis Reed, who went to Colorado and was at one time a barber in Denver, was last heard of by his Pike
county relatives in Seattle, Washington, being then unmarried. Alva Reed died in Perry, unmarried, about 1894.
Grace Reed married David A. Schaffnit, Perry merchant, a son of Martin Schaffnit and Mary Lutz. They were married
by the Rev. H. A. McKinney at Perry, December 17, 1890, with Martin Schaffnit and family witnessing. Mrs. Schaffnit
died June 25, 1891, aged 19, and is buried at Perry.
Rosetta (Rose) Reed married Ed Risley of Perry, a native of Ohio and a son of Eben Risley and Mary Miller. They
were married in Fairmount township on February 12, 1890, by Justice Thomas Hull with George Risley and Grace Reed
witnessing. They had two children, Tracy A. and Allie Risley. Tracy married Joseph F. Daigh of Perry, son of Harrison
Daigh and Margaret Turner. They were married by Harry Willard at Perry, March 2, 1915, with Vada Yockey and Grace
Daigh as witnesses. They have two daughters, Mary Frances and Joanna Daigh. They live in Los Angeles. Allie Risley
was in the World War. He died in Portland, Oregon, and is buried there.
Roy Reed married Dora Conners, a St. Louis girl, and she died, leaving four children. He lives in Seattle. Harvey
B. Reed married Carrie E. Ewing of Baylis. They were married in the United Brethren parsonage in Baylis, January
7, 1891, with the Rev. H. F. Kline officiating, and John Ewing and Addie Tipton witnessing. She was a daughter
of Alexander Ewing and Sarah C. Elder. Harvey Reed died at the William Smith home in Perry, as did his brother
Alva. There were no children. Carrie Ewing Reed later married Tolbert Black and is now a resident of Clovis, California.
Silas Reed died January 8, 1903, aged 71 years, four months and two days.
Sarah Ann Baldwin, fourth of the Lewis H. Baldwin children, was born February 18, 1844 and died April 24, 1848,
in her fifth year. She is buried in Hinman cemetery.
James Lewis Baldwin, fifth child and third son of Lewis H. Baldwin, was born April 21, 1846. His first wife was
Amelia L. (Ella) Williams whom he married August 22, 1872, and they had four children, namely, Ida, Marshall L.,
Lavada and Fred H. Baldwin.
Ida Baldwin died, unmarried. Marshall L. Baldwin married his second cousin, Edith M. Elledge, daughter of James
S. Elledge and Jennie Clark, and granddaughter of Thomas P. Elledge, who was a son of Boone and a brother of Maria
Jane Baldwin. They were married at Perry November 26, 1902, by the Rev. Warren W. Drake. He was 28, she 21. They
reside in Blackwell, Oklahoma, and have three children, Bertha Louise, Clark Frederick and Mary Frances. Bertha
Louise married Leo H. Helm and they reside in St. Joseph, Missouri. They have no children. Clark Frederick and
Mary Frances are at home.
Lavada (Vada) Baldwin married Edward C. Yockey of Perry at the Baldwin residence November 17, 1897, the Rev. G.
W. Flagg officiating. Witnesses were Edna R. and Mary G. Schaffnit. Vada Baldwin was for a long time the organist
at the now vanished Asbury meeting-house, once rival of Hinman Chapel. Mr. and Mrs. Yockey removed to California
and there Mr. Yockey died. Mrs. Yockey resides in Los Angeles with her one daughter, Mrs. Luella Herron; who is
a teacher in the Los Angeles schools.
Fred H. Baldwin, fourth and last child of James Lewis and Ella (Williams) Baldwin, married Miss E. May Cory of
Tempest, November 28, 1900, with Robert B. Irwin the officiating minister. She was a daughter of George W. Cory
and Cyntha Six. Lulu C. White and M. L. Baldwin witnessed the marriage. The Baldwins, formerly residents of Fairmount
township, now live near Palmyra, Missouri. They have four children, Warren, Lewis, Dorothy and Robert.
Warren Baldwin married Miss Helen Dixon and they live in Peoria where he is chemist for the Caterpillar Tractor
Company. Lewis Baldwin married Marinda Tedrow, daughter of Farris Tedrow and Vina Collins, and they live on South
Prairie, in northern Pike county. Dorothy has been employed as teacher at Bradbury Grove, in Griggsville township.
Robert married Miss Glenna Cooley of Perry, a daughter of Clyde Cooley and Vera Zimmerman. They were married in
Pittsfield by the Rev. Robert C. Calderwood of the Pittsfield M. E. Church, October 17, 1936, with Virginia Eddy
and Mrs. Dorcas Calderwood witnessing. They reside north of Perry.
James Lewis Baldwin's first wife died, and on November 14, 1912, at Perry he again married, his second wife being
Mrs. Essie (Vertrees) Stewart, widow of Irving Stewart. Essie Ida Vertrees was a daughter of Jacob C. Vertrees
and Julia Ann Rusk. She was born north of Perry, April 2, 1876. The Rev. G. G. Maple performed the wedding ceremony
which was witnessed by Frank and Cora Zimmerman, the latter (Mrs. Frank O. Zimmerman of Pittsfield) being a sister
of the bride, as was also Mrs. Anna Vertrees Noble, wife of Ernest Noble of Brown county. The second Mrs. Baldwin
died September 11, 1909; she is buried in McCord cemetery at Perry. James L. Baldwin died near Beverly, in Adams
county, in 1926. In his home, in addition to his own children, was raised a granddaughter of Rebecca Baldwin Reed,
Tracy Risley, who married Joseph Daigh.
Elizabeth Julia Baldwin, sixth child of Lewis H. and Maria (Elledge) Baldwin, born October 14, 1848, married William
Joseph Gray of Perry, February 28, 1878. He was a son of Benjamin E. Gray and Lutetia McKinley. They had eight
children, namely, Clista Alma, Edith Maria, James William, Gertrude Penelope, Harry Elliott, Blanche Fern, Bertha
Glenna and Carrie Delphine Gray.
Clista Gray died in January, 1931. Edith Gray died May 6, 1890, aged 9; she is buried at Hinman. James William
Gray married Miss Grace Cockill of Perry, January 6, 1909, she a daughter of Charles Harvey Cockill and Luella
C. Armentrout. They were married by Arthur S. Chapman of the Pittsfield M. E. Church, with J. Clark Cockill and
Harry Gray as witnesses. They reside in Hannibal and have a son, Charles Gray.
Gertrude Gray married Walter Lipcamon of Perry, February 28, 1912, with the Rev. R. L. Shores performing the ceremony,
witnessed by Harry Gray and Anna Seybold. They resided at Pittsfield. She died December 16, 1932. Mr. Lipcamon
is now a resident of Hannibal.
Harry E. Gray married as his first wife Miss Anna Seybold, a native of Fish Hook, and a daughter of George W. Seybold
and Mary Gardner. They were married in the U. B. church August 29, 1912, with W. G. Hamilton, pastor of the church,
saying the ceremony and the bride's parents witnessing. Mr. Gray's second marriage was with Laura Pugh of Colorado.
They reside in San Diego, California.
Blanche Gray married Samuel S. White of Perry on September 2, 1915. They were married by W. G. Hamilton with Mrs.
William Gray and Mrs. E. Hamilton as witnesses. The groom was a son of Joseph White and Ida Davis. Mr. and Mrs.
White live in Hannibal and have three children, Nellie, Harold and Ray, the latter two at home. Nellie married
Ira Sellers and resides in Hannibal.
Bertha Gray married Lawrence Harvey February 24, 1927. They have a beautiful home in Griggsville. Several records
quoted in this history are kept by this great granddaughter of pioneer Boone and Rebecca Elledge.
Carrie D. Gray married Floyd Henderson Phillips of Griggsville, February 26, 1914. The groom was a native of Fairmount
township, a son of S. G. Phillips. They were married by the Rev. Dennis Park; Harry and Anna Gray witnessed. The
Grays have three living children, Gilbert, Warren and Robert, all at home. A child, William, died at the age of
five, and another, Leah, at the age of four. One child died in infancy.
Grace Abigail Baldwin, seventh of the Lewis Baldwin children, born January 7, 1851, married William Hesley Smith,
October 12, 1876. They were married by the Rev. A. C. Adams. They had four children, Alice, Charles, Winifred and
Percy Smith.
Alice Smith married Joe M. Witham at Perry, December 9, 1896. The Rev. William Hawker officiated, and J. H. Elledge
and J. B. Gregory witnessed. He was a son of George W. Witham and Mary A. Downer. A child died in infancy. The
mother also is dead.
Charles Smith married Elma Angelo of Jacksonville and they had three children, Pauline, Harold and Billy, the latter
two at home. Pauline (Mrs. Pauline Lacy) lives at Long Beach, California, as do also her parents and brothers.
Winifred Smith married Walter McAdams of Chicago and they live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; no children.
Percy Smith married Nola Ingalls, a daughter of Walter C. (Cap) Ingalls of Perry and Mrs. Anna (Dorsey) Gregory,
and a granddaughter of Boone Elledge's brother, William Elledge, pioneer of the Scott county region who died at
Jacksonville in 1830. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one son, Gordon W. Smith, who married June Kurfman of Perry, a daughter
of Burlend Curfman. Mr. and Mrs. Smith live in the Shady Dell neighborhood.
Thomas Henry Baldwin, eighth child of Lewis Baldwin, was born December 2, 1853 and died March 6, 1857, in his fourth
year. He is buried in Hinman cemetery.
David Samuel Baldwin, ninth and last child of Lewis H. and Maria (Elledge) Baldwin, was born August 25, 1856. He
married Martha J. Harris, August 24, 1876, with the Rev. J. Frank Stout officiating. They had one son, Leon Baldwin,
whose last known address was Kansas City, Missouri. In David's veins coursed the hunting blood of his Boone ancestors
and like Daniel in Kentucky wilderness he was a great hunter. He died from a gunshot wound sustained when getting
into a wagon October 24, 1878. His son Leon was then about one year old. David is buried in Hinman cemetery, being
only 22 when he died.
Lewis H. Baldwin died in his Fairmount home March 6, 1883. According to the inscription on his tombstone he was
71 years, three months and 15 days old; according to his death certificate on file in the Pike county courthouse
he was 72 years, three months and 20 days old. His widow, the only daughter of Boone and Rebecca Elledge, continuing
to reside in the Fairmount home, survived until February 7, 1908, passing away at the age of 92 years, two months
and 23 days. A twin monument in Hinman cemetery marks the graves of Maria Jane and her husband. Nearby are the
graves of her parents, Boone and Rebecca Elledge; also the grave of her noted pioneer aunt, Tabitha Beall, who
had been the wife of Boone Elledge's brother, William.
Records of old Asbury Sunday school contains the names of a number of the Baldwins and their kin. In 1885, Harvey
Reed, a son of Rebecca Jane Baldwin and Silas Reed, as secretary of the Sunday school was the keeper of its records.
He was succeeded in 1886 by Robert Osborne. Ella Baldwin, the wife of James Lewis Baldwin, was then a teacher in
the Sunday school of which E. F. Rush was superintendent. In 1894, an old record shows that Ella Baldwin was still
a teacher, as was her husband, James L. Baldwin. Vada Baldwin was then organist, and James Lewis Baldwin chorister.
Tracy Risley was in Ella Baldwin's class, and Marshall Baldwin in George Parker's. Vada and Ida Baldwin had Mrs.
Kate Rush for teacher.
The old Sunday school record for Asbury in the latter 1850s lists the following among the male scholars, in the
hand of Robert Osborne: Alva Reed, Willie Reed, Sam Hammitt, Frank Snowhill, Elsie Baldwin, Henry Ellis, Harvey
McLaughlin, Albert McLaughlin, Jake Firth, Ham Mikesell, Marshall Baldwin, Bert Williams, French Mikesell, Ike
Gorbett, Abbie Law, John Beeman, John McLaughlin, Rob McLaughlin, Jerome Rush, Frank Parker, John Williams, James
Baldwin, Cyrus Rush, Dolph McLaughlin.
Female scholars of the period were: Sarah McLaughlin, Mary McLaughlin, Maggie Williams, Minnie Krentler, Clara
Stokesberry, Rose Reed, Lucy Rush, Mrs. Jane Baldwin, Mrs. Stoughton, Nancy McLaughlin, Lida and Lettie McLaughlin,
Nettie Snowhill, Lula McLaughlin, Anna Rush, Lizzie Elledge, Ettie Triplett, Kate McLaughlin, Vinie Medaris, Ettie
Kaylor, Ada McLaughlin, Sadie Chamberlain, Annie Sweeting, Maud McLaughlin, Bessie McLaughlin, Ida Baldwin, Vada
Baldwin, Gracie Reed, Bertha Rush, Sallie Rush, Lizzie Ellis, Rose Ellis, Emily Rush, Alice Smith, Mina McLaughlin.
Male teachers were William Stoughton and George Parker; female teachers were Mrs. S. C. Rush, Kate Rush, Ida Williams,
Nancy McLaughlin, Anna Rush, Ella Baldwin and Maria Rush.
So stood the roll of old Asbury a half century ago. Asbury church, as well as Hinman Chapel which it attempted
to supplant, have both vanished, as have many of the worshipers of those early years.