Fred or Frank(lin) Atherton page

HOME ALTHOFF ATHERTON MAIN PAGE

Our Atherton Ancestry

Celebrating the lives and history of ancestors
Franklin/Frank (Fred) M. Atherton and Martha Elizabeth Trowbridge


Franklin/Frank "Fred" M. Atherton    
(12 Mar 1849 - Unknown)
Parents:    Milton Atherton
                Cordelia (Delia) Van Benschoten 

Siblings:    None
 Married, first:
Martha Elizabeth Trowbridge 
           (27 Mar 1852 - 16 Dec 1941)                            

Parents:   David Trowbridge
               Lydia Deforest Hicks              

Siblings:   Stay tuned for completion

Frank (Fred) and Martha Elizabeth were married July 1, 1871
Children of Fred and Martha Elizabeth:

Guy Wilbert Atherton (6/6/1873 - 9/22/1965)
Fred married, second:
Martha A. Holman (b. 8/9/1872)
 Married August 9, 1890, at Waubay, South Dakota
Children of Fred and Martha A. Holman:
Leoline Ella Atherton (b. 9/24/1892)
Lionel Lancaster Atherton (b. 6/1/1899)
Leslie Gwynn Atherton (b. 6/27/1900)
Laurel Bernice Atherton (b. Abt. 1906)

UPDATE 7/13/08 - New possibilities as to where Fred was in his later years. Link: 1920 AND 1930 CENSUS FINDS

UPDATE 9/16/07 - New insights into Fred's life as a sailor on the Great Lakes. Link: GREAT LAKES UPDATE
Fred Atherton is my great, great grandfather. I have been both challenged and greatly rewarded as I attempted to learn more about him. A variety of source material has been put together to give a rough sketch of his life, as follows:

The man who preferred to be called "Fred" Atherton in his adult years was born to Milton C. Atherton and Cordelia (Delia) Van Benschoten Atherton on March 12, 1849, according to the published Van Benschoten family genealogy.(1) He is first seen on census records on the 1850 census in Huron township, Erie County, Ohio, with Milton and Delia. He is listed here as "Franklin" Atherton, the only public record listing him as such. (Other records will reflect "Frank," "F. M." and "Fred.") He is "1" year old. According to this record, he was born in Ohio, while other reports will reflect his place of birth as West Virginia.

The Van Benschoten genealogy report for Fred's mother, Cordelia, states that, divorced from Milton Atherton, Cordelia married, second, James Wells on August 28, 1854. This would be her second of four marriages. Access the Van Benschoten file for more data on Cordelia. Three Wells children were born in 1855, 1860 and 1861. These were Curtis B., Mary, and Anna, respectively. Accordingly to the Van Benschoten genealogy, in Fred's "seventh year," or about 1856, he went to live with his grandparents, Curtis and Anna (Mullennix) Van Benschoten. We find the Curtis "Benschoter" household listed on the 1860 census in Berlin township, Erie County, Ohio. Among the members of the household is "F. M. Atherton," age 11. On the same census report page, the James Wells household is listed.

It would be appropriate to copy here the full listing for "Fred M. Atherton" in the published Van Benschoten genealogy:

        "Fred M. Atherton, m. 1st, July 1, 1871, at Butler, Ind., Martha Elizabeth Trowbridge, b. in 1853, at Butler. He lived
        with his grandfather, Curtis, from his seventh to his fifteenth year, when for two seasons he went on the lakes with Capt.
        Luther Wilcox of Huron. Thereafter he tried his hand at many things in many places and in 1883 settled at Columbia, S.D.
        as a druggist. In 1890 he removed to Waubay, S.D., where he has since resided, first as druggist and publisher of 'The
        Waubay Clipper', later and at present exclusively as a newspaper man. He belongs to the Odd Fellows, K. of L. [probably
        Knights of Labor], K. of P. [probably Knights of Pythias(5)], and Knights of the Golden Cross societies; a member of           
        the Republican State Central Committee, owns and runs a Republican paper and is closely identified with state politics. He   
        m., 2nd, Aug 9., 1890, at Waubay, Martha A. Holman, b. Aug. 9, 1872, in Filmore Co., Minn.

            Child by first wife:
                Guy W. b. Oct 14, 1874, at Reading, Mich. In 1892 he enlistd in the Reg. Army, serving five years, mainly
                at Poplar Creek and Buford, Mont., and at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; in 1897 he enlisted again in the Third
                U.S. Inf., served throughout the Cuban War and was discharged from the service Jan 8, 1899. He is now a
                printer in St. Paul, Minn.

            Children by second wife:
                Leoline Ella, b. Sep. 21, 1893.
                Lionel Lancaster, b. June 1, 1899"


The next record following the 1860 census is for the marriage of "Frank M. Atherton" to Martha Elizabeth Trowbridge. This event is reported in a couple of places. A listing of "Pioneer Weddings" on the DeKalb County, Indiana genealogy website(2) reports the July 1, 1871 marriage of "Frank Atherton to Martha E. Trowbridge" with T. P. Sutton officiating. Another source confirming the marriage is from a published Trowbridge family genealogy.(3) The record for Martha Elizabeth is as follows:

        "Martha Elizabeth, b. Mar. 27, 1832; m. 1st, July 1, 1871, Frank M. Atherton of Newville; m., 2d, Mar. 7, 1888,
        James Earl Towne and resides in Auburn, Ind."

The excellent DeKalb County, Indiana genealogy website also notes in a report on "Divorces in DeKalb County" that Plaintiff Martha E. Atherton was granted a divorce from defendant Frank M. Atherton in the "May Term 1884."

Though not officially divorced until 1884, Frank/Fred and Martha Elizabeth/Elizabeth were likely estranged or separated much earlier. An 1880 census listing for "Elizabeth" Atherton and son Guy in Reading, Hillsdale, Michigan does not list dad to be with them. A further search of census records turned up a listing in 1880 for Fred Atherton in Mecosta, Mecosta County, Michigan. Fred is living in the James Hullinger household with James listed as head of household. James' wife, Levantia, and son Otto, and Fred Atherton complete the household. The occupation listed for both James and Fred is "druggist." Fred's relationship to head of household is shown as "clerk." Fred's birthplace is listed here as "West Virginia." Note that Fred's father, Milton C. Atherton lived in West Virginia from at least 1860 until his death, after 1900.

One of the best records for Fred is from a summary of his life which was published in a book which includes biographies of selected South Dakota citizens.(4) The record for Fred Atherton is as follows:

        "FRED ATHERTON is the editor and proprietor of the 'Clipper' of Waubay, Day county, and is a well-known newspaper
        man of that section. Mr. Atherton was born in Taylor county, West Virginia, March 12, 1855, and is a son of Milton and
        Delia (Benschoter) Atherton, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Ohio. His father was a farmer by occupation, and
        during the war was a government contractor. He was wounded several times by the Confederates, but finally recovered. Our
        subject received a scant education in his native state and at the age of eleven secured a place on a vessel on the great lakes,
        and for seven years afterward he followed the life of a sailor, visiting nearly all of the large ports of the world during that time.
        He lived in Indiana and Michigan until 1879, and while in those states learned pharmacy and became a druggist. In 1882 he
        went to Dakota and settled in Brown county. He remained there until the spring of 1890 and then removed to Waubay, where
        he established the paper which he now controls. This publication was then owned by C. W. Stafford & Son, of Aberdeen,
        South Dakota, and he he conducted it for them until 1891, when it become [sic] his own property. Mr. Atherton was also a
        druggist at Waubay for five years, but disposed of his business in 1895. He is a Republican politically, and has been assistant
        postmaster, besides having held a number of other local offices. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., A. O. U. W., K. of L., and
        is very well known and popular in the northeastern part of the state.

        Mr. Atherton has been twice married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth, and to whom he was united in
        1871, died eight years later, leaving one child, Guy W. Mr. Atherton married again in 1890, his second wife having been
        Miss Martha Holman. Mrs. Atherton has born her husband one child, Leoline."

There are several obvious discrepancies in this report with other source records, beginning with Fred's birthday, down to the fact that his first wife (whose maiden name was not Elizabeth...as far as my definition of "maiden name" goes!) did not die until 1941. At any rate, this account did wonders for tying some facts together as well as confirming some mysteries.

State of South Dakota birth records confirm data, as noted above, for daughter Leoline Ella as well as sons Lionel Lancaster and Leslie Gwynn. Daughter Laurel Bernice is reported on the 1910 census as being born in California.

In 1900, census records for Waubay Village, Day County, South Dakota, reflect Fred Atherton, wife Martha, Leoline E., and Lionel L., as well as a boarder, Charles F. Black, listed as a printer. And it may be appropriate to record a recent email which gave a summary of ownership of The Waubay Clipper, as noting this "boarder" just reminded me of hearing that name once before. Note:

        "The Waubay Clipper was established May 1, 1890, two years before the Sisseton-Wahpeton Indian Reservation opened.
        Its first publishers were D. W. Stafford and sons, and it changed hands several times until it was purchased by Fred
        Atherton in 1891. Chas. F. Black, a young student from Redfield College, was his assistant. Mr. Black and his wife, Annie
        Jane Ackerman, purchased the Clipper from Mr. Atherton on May 3, 1903. Mr. Black passed away in 1923 and Annie
        continued to own and operate the paper with the help of her son, William, until her death in 1964. Illness forced William to
        close the paper for a few months prior to selling the paper to Andy and Ethel Anderson in 1966. They ran the paper until
        I (Linda Walters) purchased it in 1981. I still own it and it has never missed an issue in all its years, except for the months
        Mr. Black closed it due to his ill health."

One other tidbit of interest about Fred and the 1900 census: the signature of the enumerator of the census at the top of the page is that of none other than Fred Atherton!

As the current owner of The Waubay Clipper confirmed, the paper was sold in 1903 and the Atherton family moved sometime after that to San Diego, California. Fred, Martha, and all four of their children are listed on the 1910 census for San Diego city, San Diego County, California. Fred is listed with the occupation of a "groceryman" with place of employment "Grocery Store" and working on his "Own Account." His place of birth once again is listed as West Virginia.

And here is where record of Fred is lost. The 1920 census still shows Martha, with Leslie and Laurel, living in San Diego City, San Diego County, California. However, Fred is not listed on the census. Martha is listed as "Married." No record apart from the family has been found for Fred. No death record has been found for him. Also, no record found spells out Fred's middle name, though it could well be "Milton" after his father. If you have found this record, having a connection with Fred and with more information that you can share, please feel free to email [email protected]
             
(1) Concerning the Van Bunschoten or Van Benschoten Family in America, A Genealogy and Brief History by William Henry Van Benschoten, 1907
(2) https://sites.rootsweb.com/~indekalb/other/marriages.txt
(3) The Trowbridge Genealogy, History of the Trowbridge Family in America, by Francis Bacon Trowbridge, 1908
(4) Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography, including biographical sketches
        of ...prominent old settlers and  representative citizens of South Dakota with a review of their life work...Also a compendium of national biography. Publisher: Chicago,
        G. A. Ogle, 1898. (Find Fred's record at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/sd/day/bios/atherton155gbs.txt)
(5) For history of the Knights of Pythias organization in South Dakota, see http://files.usgwarchives.net/sd/social/pythias.txt
BACK TO TOP
Web Page Updates:

7/13/08: 1920 AND 1930 CENSUS FINDS
Fred mysteriously drops out of his family, off of the census radar, beginning in 1920. In hunting for sign of him, a record was found for a "Frederick" Atherton on the 1930 census that had been set aside for further research. This Frederick was living in Walla Walla Washington, a "member" at an "IOOF Home" there. His statistics lined up with our Franklin/Frank/Fred Atherton. I recently received an email from a descendant-relative from Fred's second family. I emailed back my finding on this "Home" and she indicated that there was some recollection of Fred having been in a home in his later years. With this little encouragement, I thought I would at least see if Fred could be found in 1920 as well. An Ancestry.com search of Walla Walla Washington in 1920 did indeed turn up a record - he is listed as "Fred Attertone" and [Fred Att?]. The IOOF home is still in operation today, so an email has been sent to see if any records are available to help us to confirm Fred's family connections. Also, if Fred died in Washington state, I have asked where he may have been buried. Because Fred was specifically reported to be a member of the IOOF, it seems probable that he may have sought help from that organization. It is interesting to note that Fred was recorded as being widowed on both the 1920 and 1930 censuses. Both also list his birthplace as West Virginia. The 1920 census reports Fred's father as having been born in New York, while the 1930 census says that Frederick's father was born in Virginia. Both censuses report mother's birthplace as Ohio.

One other tidbit found for "Frederick" Atherton on the 1930 census is in response to the question of US military service. Asked "Whether a veteran of the US Military or naval forces mobilized for any war or expedition" and "What war or expedition" the response was given "Yes" and "Civ". This is the first suggestion I have seen as to Civil War service for Fred. It seems possible that he was involved through his work on ships on the Great Lakes.

9/16/07: Great Lakes Update
In browsing the web for "Benschoter" information, I came upon a file with data from the book "History of the Great Lakes, Vol. 2 by J.B. Mansfield
Captains, Shipping, Lighthouse Keepers and Marine Biographies." In it was a biography for Captain John Decatur Peterson which noted his 1862 marriage to Miss Eulalia C. Benschoter. I checked the Van Benschoten genealogy and noted that Eulalia was Fred's Aunt. Fred would have been 13 years old when they married. From the two published accounts of Fred's life, above, we learned that Fred "went on the lakes" somewhere between the ages of eleven and fifteen. The reports also conflict as to whether he spent two years or seven on the lakes - or around the world. Whatever the facts, he may have been connected to work on the lakes through his new uncle, Captain Peterson. Read Captain Peterson's biography.