DIED.-At the residence of her [grand]son-in-law, Oscar Coleman, near LaCrosse, Wednesday evening, 10:05 o'clock, Dec. 4th, 1889, Mrs. Maria Fordham, aged 92 years, 3 months.  The family came to Illinois in 1846 and to Hancock County in 1847.  She was the mother of six children, four of whom survive her, Chas. C. Coney, by a former husband, resides in New York; Mrs. Maria Wooley in McDonough County; Byron and Mrs. Adiline Wright, in this county.  She has made her home with the last named since 1869.  The funeral will be conducted by Rev. Warner at the residence of her son, Byron Fordham, at 1 o'clock today.  The burial will take place at the Webster graveyard.  The deceased was greatly beloved by a wide acquaintance.

Mr. Pard Wooley, wife and daughter, and Mr. John Wooley and wife, of near Good Hope, were called here Friday to attend the burial of Grandma Fordham.  Mrs. Fordham was in her 93rd year and had a remarkable memory, which she retained till here death, which occurred Wednesday evening at 10 o'clock at the residence of her grand-daughter, Mrs. Oscar Coleman.  Funeral services were held at her son's, B. F. Fordham, at 1 o'clock p.m. on Friday, after which her remains were deposited in the Webster cemetery.  The services at the home were conducted by Rev. Warner and a large number of sympathizing friends were present to pay their last tribute of respect to a noble woman.

Excerpted from Chat's Webster column: The remains of Grandma Fordham, which were interred in our beautiful "Wildwood" cemetery about two years ago, were removed last week to a burying ground east of La Crosse.

Contributions made to the LDS website appear to have been taken wholesale from Ms. Holman's work.

Maria Clark was born in Stratford, Connecticut, September 5, 1797, the daughter of Samuel and Eunice (Riggs) Clark.

She was first married at Camillus, Onondaga County, New York, on December 17, 1821, to Justus (or Justin) Coney, born in New York in 1789, son of Capt. Oliver Coney and Jane Adams. Oliver is credited with brief service during the Revolutionary War.

Ms. Holman also provided this background information:

Oliver Coney spent most of his life in Ware, Massachusetts, and was an active member of the community.  "Just what trouble arose between Oliver Coney and the town of Ware the records fail to disclose.  He evidently became involved in some way, and an execution was issued against him.  In 1785 he left Ware and went to Strafford [sic], Conn., where he remained a short time, thence removing to New York.  In 1792, his wife died, and the younger children were brought back to Ware, where they grew to adult age as members of the household of an uncle.  Captain Coney came back to Ware later, and is buried in the Ware graveyard." ~ ~ ~ ~ Oliver Coney left no will and no administration was taken on his estate.  His earliest child known to the family was born in 1785, eleven years after his marriage.  He undoubtedly had earlier children, but they may have scattered after their mother's death. ~ ~ ~ ~ There is a question as to whether there was not a son Justin as well as Justus.  The dates of birth of Betsey, Luke, Justus, and Oliver were furnished by George-Henry Coney of Windsor, Conn., who does not say how they were obtained. ~ ~ ~ ~ Justus, b. 1789; m. Sophia Upham and Maria Clark. ~ ~ ~ ~ A Justin Coney of Ware was published there to Sophia Upham, 27 Jan. 1816, and Justin Coney of Ware married there this Sophia Upham, 11 Apr. 1816.  The name is plainly Justin in both instances.  It is possible that Justus Coney had a brother Justin, the child born in 1782, Justus being born in 1789.  It is also possible and really more probable that Justus was married twice.  If so, his wife, Sophia, died shortly after marriage, and he probably never mentioned the marriage to his second wife, as her descendants seem very positive that she knew nothing of any such marriage.  The Upham Genealogy states that Sophia daughter of John and Patty (Bines) Upham married Jesse Coomes of Palmer.  The vital records of Palmer show no such person there.  She was the only Sophia in Ware at the time of the marriage of Justin Coney.  Maria (Clark) Coney's grandchild stated that all the children thought his name was "Justin."

Three children were born to Maria and Justus:

i.	Palemon Clark Coney, born in September of 1822, died in September of 1872 in Hancock County, Illinois.  He was buried at Webster Cemetery.
ii.	Charles Clinton Coney, born December 9, 1823.  He married Olive Amanda Bartlett.  In 1860 Charles and family were living in the town of Murray, Orleans County.  In 1870 and 1880 they were in the town of Clarkson, Monroe County.  By 1900 Charles and Olive had returned to Murray.  In 1910 Charles, a widower, was residing in the village of Holley, Murray Township, Orleans County, where he is said to have died on January 27, 1916.
iii.	Maria Lavinia Coney, born May 13, 1826.  On September 14, 1851, in Hancock County, Illinois, she married Pardon Woolley, son of Fitzgerald Woolley and Sarah Barnett.  Maria died in Long Beach, California, on February 26, 1919; burial location undetermined.

Justus Coney died at Camillus on September 27, 1827, after which Maria taught school for 14 terms (we do not know the length of a term).

John Fordham was born in Genesee County, New York.  Ms. Holman wrote that he was son of English parents and had been adopted by a Presbyterian clergyman.  On August 31, 1834, Maria and John Fordham were married in Murray, Orleans County.

This marriage, in an era when there was a prevailing negative attitude toward the pairing of an older woman and a younger husband, is made remarkable by the difference in their ages.  After researching hundreds of couples, fingers would easily suffice to tick off the number of times we have found wives much more than a year or two older than their spouses.  Maria was born in 1797, John Fordham was born in 1818 based on records in hand.

Usually a few years were shaved off of an older wife's age.  In this case it appears that, when reporting to census takers, years were added to John's age.  There was but a nine year gap recorded in both 1850 and 1860.  We surmise John's birth year from the age he reported when he enlisted in Union Army in 1862, his Certificate of Disability for Discharge and Maria's subsequent application for a widow's pension.

John and Maria would become parents of three children.  John made entries on a family Bible page which Maria removed to support the above mentioned pension application.  That page remains a part of John's military file.

i.	Byron Fordham, born June 11, 1835, in Murray, Orleans County, died between 1906 and 1910, probably in Missouri.
ii.	Adeline Fordham, born June 17, 1837, in Gaines, Orleans County, according to her obituary, died August 29, 1925, in Fountain Green Township, Hancock County.  Burial at Pilot Grove Cemetery, Hancock County.
iii.	Elvira Fordham, born March 7, 1842, in New York, died in Illinois at the age of 8.  Burial location undetermined.

In 1850 John and Maria were in Hancock County, Illinois.  Living with them were two of the Coney children, Palemon and Maria.

In 1860 John Fordham and Palemon Coney were blacksmiths.  By 1860 both had turned to farming, but John apparently went back to his former trade before long.  In 1862 John, then a resident of Bushnell, McDonough County, Illinois, joined the Union Army.  The following details are from the Muster and Descriptive Rolls compiled by the Illinois Adjutant General's Office:

Name   FORDHAM, JOHN
Rank   PVT   Company I   72 IL US INF

Personal Characteristics
Residence   BUSHNELL, McDONOUGH CO, IL
Age 44   Height 5' 9"   Hair LIGHT   Eyes BLUE   Complexion LIGHT
Marital Status   MARRIED   Occupation   BLACKSMITH   Nativity   NY

Service Record
Joined When   AUG 14, 1862   Joined Where   CHICAGO, IL
Joined By Whom   CPT HARVEY   Period   3 YRS
Muster In   AUG 21, 1862   Muster In Where   CHICAGO, IL
Muster In By Whom   N/A   Muster Out   N/A
Muster Out Where   N/A   Muster Out By Whom   N/A
Remarks   TRANS TO CO D 72 ILL INF AUG 1, 1864* [This year is an error.]

Name   FORDHAM, JOHN
Rank   PVT   Company D   72 IL US INF

Personal Characteristics
Residence   BUSHNELL, McDONOUGH CO, IL
Age 44   Height 5' 9"   Hair LIGHT   Eyes BLUE   Complexion LIGHT
Marital Status   MARRIED   Occupation   BLACKSMITH   Nativity   NY

Service Record
Joined When   AUG 14, 1862   Joined Where   CHICAGO, IL
Joined By Whom   CPT HARVEY   Period   3 YRS
Muster In   AUG 21, 1862   Muster In Where   CHICAGO, IL
Muster In By Whom   N/A   Muster Out   N/A
Muster Out Where   N/A   Muster Out By Whom   N/A
Remarks   TRANS FROM CO I 72 ILL INF ABSENT SICK AT COLUMBUS KY SINCE NOV 20, 1862

On December 19, 1862, John was discharged due to disability caused by chronic diarrhea.  He returned home to Bushnell, where he grew weaker and weaker until the doctor advised the family that John would not survive.  He died on March 22, 1863, and was buried at Bushnell.

Maria filed for a widow's pension in May and was eventually granted a monthly stipend of $8.  By the time she died, it had been increased to $12.

In the early '60s Adeline Fordham Wright went to the California goldfields to join her husband, Thomas Wright.  In 1870 Maria was living with Adeline and Thomas in Siskiyou County, California. According to a detailed biography of Thomas, they returned to Illinois in 1874.  By the time of the 1880 census, Adeline and Thomas were divorcing.  Maria was counted twice in the census that year: once in the Hancock County home of son Byron, and also in the McDonough County home of Maria and Pardon Woolley, her daughter and son-in-law.

We do not know if Maria's resting place is marked, but thanks to Chat we have a final destination in a life story that took Maria Clark the breadth of the United States, from a village in New York to Hancock County, Illinois, where daily living was a hard proposition, to the rugged goldfields of California, then back to Illinois.  Oh, what interesting chapters must have filled that story.

John Fordham, 41, male, blacksmith, value of real estate 200, born NY
Maria, 50, female, born CT
Byron, 15, male, born NY, attended school within the year
Adaline, 13, female, born NY, attended school within the year
Plenian C Conery, 26, male, blacksmith, born NY
Maria Conery, 23, white, female, born NY

Mary Fordham, 59, female, value of real estate 800, value of personal estate 200, born CT
John, 50, male, farm laborer, born NY
Adaline, 23, female, born NY
Robert Black, 23, male, "comon" school teacher, born PA

Wright, H, 36, male, white, miner, value of personal estate 1500, born IL, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
R A, 35, male, white, miner, value of personal estate 1500, born TN, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
T B [sic], 34, male, white, miner, value of personal estate 1500, born IL, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
Adeline, 33, female, white, keeping house, born NY
Eva, 7, female, white, at home, born IL, attended school within the year
Bennett, 6, male, white, at home, born CA, attended school within the year
Fordham, Maria, 72, female, white, at home, born CT

Fordham, Byron, white, male, 45, widower, born NY, father born NY, mother born CT
Flora, white, female, 11, daughter, single, at home, attended school within the year, born IL, father born NY, mother born IN
Clark, white, male, 5, son, single, at home, born IL, father born NY, mother born IN
Thomas G ?, white, male, 3, son, single, at home, born IL, father born NY, mother born IN
McElvan, Frank, white, male, 15, single, laborer, attended school within the year, born MI, both parents born OH
Fordham, Mariah, white, female, 82, mother, widow, born CT, both parents born CT

Woolley, Pardon, white, male, 56, married, blacksmith, born NY, father born RI, mother
born [no entry]
Meriah, white, female, 56, wife, married, keeps house, born NY, father born MA, mother
born CT
Ora, white, male, 12, son, at home, born IL, both parents born NY
Fordham, Maria, white, female, 82, at P Woolleys, born CT, both parents born CT