JOHN W. McNINCH WHAM
Research completed by Thomas James Wham, Mary Sue Wham, and John Eric Wham - Submitted April, 2003, revised February, 2008
John W. McNinch Wham (Joseph W., William, Benjamin) was born to Joseph William Wham (B. 30 Aug 1804 D. 11 Sept 1858) and Isabella McMillan (B. abt 1805 D. 24 Oct 1829) on 22 Apr 1826.
In 1835, John W. McNinch Wham moved to Marion County, Illinois with his family and others. His Mother (Isabella McNinch Wham) and his Grandfather (William Wham) had died and were buried in Lincoln County ,Tennessee where the Wham family had lived since they left South Carolina in about 1819. There must have been considerable preparation prior to the move which included acquisition of land and building construction. A listing of the original ownership of land in Marion County, Illinois by the Federal Government had John W. McNinch Wham acquiring 40 acres in 1833,1834,1850 and 1856 for a total of 160 acres. His father, Joseph, no doubt had a hand in his early acquisitions as he was seven years old in 1833.
John W. McNinch Wham married Elizabeth M. Wilson on 24 Aug 1847 in Lincoln County, Tennessee after returning from a victory in the Mexican War. He was a Private in the 1st Division of the 6th Illinois Regiment. His father and two brothers served in the same unit. John W. McNinch Wham was formally discharged on 13 Oct 1848. All that served in the Mexican War received land grants from the Federal Government.
Elizabeth M. Wilson was born about 1828 in Dekalb Country, Tennessee. Her father was Samuel D. Wilson born on 3 Mar 1796 in Williamson County, Tennessee to James Wilson and Ruth Davidson both born in Mecklinberg County, North Carolina. Elizabeth’s mother was Dorcas Caroline Nesmith born 26 Aug 1804 in York County, South Carolina, daughter of William Nesmith and Jean Craig. Samuel and Dorcas were married in Madison, Alabama on 24 Aug 1820 and were the parents of ten children and lived most of their lives in Dekalb County, Tennessee. Samuel D. Wilson returned to Williamson County after the death of his wife, Dorcas, in Dekalb County. He died on 31 Dec 1854.
Later information from a series of letters written to James Sawyer Crawford and his wife, Harriet ( Henderson) Crawford in Cane Hill, Arkansas by James and Eliza Wilson in Fayetteville, Tennessee brings the validity of the parenthood of Elizabeth M. Wilson into question. After further annualizing the letter written on 19 Sept 1853 which stated the following: “Tell Martha Jane (Wilson) Crawford and Lizabeth (Wilson) Wham that their sister Mary Eliza (Wilson) is well and would be glad to see them.” The letter refers to Jane Wilson (B. 1830), Elizabeth Wilson (B.1828) and Lurinda M. Wilson (B. 1840) from another source as the children of Samuel D. and Dorcas Wilson. The M. most likely stands for Mary and Lurinda was not used, but that does not explain the name Eliza. More research is required. I’m also unable to determine the relationship of James and Eliza (Harper) Wilson to our Wilson family at this point, it was a close one.
These letters give us some insight into the personality of John W. McNinch Wham. A letter dated 25 Dec 1845 states the following: “ Before I finished writing this letter, John Wham landed in this country safe and sound. He got to Wm. Wyatts on Saturday 27th. He intended to get to our house but missed the way. He came to our house on Monday and stayed a few hours and we passed a few jokes. He is going to start to school in a few days. There is a free school now teaching in the school hours at Daniel Whitiker’s.” In another part of the same letter it states: “Wham told us that you were digging a well but had not got water. If you had as good luck as the man in Williamson County digging a well, about fifty feet underground he found human bones of a wonderful size. He has got them all put together. They are sixteen feet high. He has been offered twenty five thousand dollars for the skeleton. This is worth digging for.” This last quote tells us that he was a story teller with a good sense of humor and had just visited Arkansas. A letter written on 29 Aug 1846 states: “John Wham is well and is now going to school to Thomas B. Wilson. You wanted to know whether I was joking about the big skeleton found in digging a well in Williamson County or not. There is no joke about it. The skeleton when put together was 18 feet high (grown in size). It was taken off for a show. The one fourth of it was sold in Nashville for $25,000. The last account of it was in New Orleans on it’s way to Spain for a show.” In that same letter this statement was made: “I think Alexander and John (Wham) would like to take a girl apiece to the Arkansas but I don’t know whether they will get them to go or not. The girls hate to leave Tennessee.” To me that statement indicates a close family relationship between the Wilson letter writers and our Wilson family. The letter was written 29 Aug 1846 and John W. McNinch Wham and Elizabeth M. Wilson were married on 24 Aug 1847. A letter written on 2 Mar 1848 states: “A few lines to J. & Martha Jane (Wilson) Crawford and John and Elizabeth (Wilson) Wham. We have never heard whether Babe (nickname for Elizabeth) and John ever got there (Arkansas).” At the end of that letter it states: “Tell John and Babe to write and let us know how you like the country and the people and how you like the snakes and ticks and these sort of things.” Arkansas’s reputation for nasty critters was supported even in the 1800’s.
John W. McNinch Wham and Elizabeth M. Wilson moved to Arkansas where their first child ,Matthew Wilson Wham, was born 26 Oct 1848 near Fayetteville, Arkansas.
On 24 Apr 1849, John W. McNinch Wham departed northwest Arkansas with a group of 90 men for the gold fields of California leaving his new bride and six month old son in Arkansas. In defense of John W. McNinch, there was a large group of Wilsons and Crawfords near by to help the new bride.
The 1850 California census (Sept 1850) has John W. McNinch on the Cosumnes River in Eldorado County, California living with six men from Arkansas, including James and Matthew Devin and John and Andrew Edmiston . The 1850 Arkansas census (Nov 1850) has John, Elizabeth, and Matthew Wilson located in Mountain Township, Washington County, Arkansas. The 1850 Illinois census lists John W. McNinch Wham with the family of his father, Joseph William Wham. I cannot rectify the differences between the census information for certain, but in the case of Arkansas and Illinois it may have something to do with land ownership.
On 7 Aug 1851, John W. McNinch Wham married Mary Jane Humphrey in Jefferson County, Illinois apparently without a divorce from Elizabeth M. Wilson. It is interesting to note that John W. McNinch Wham listed his name as John M. McWham on the marriage license. Jefferson County borders Marion County on the south. It is my speculation that Elizabeth M. Wilson Wham, his first wife, was not pleased about him leaving for the gold fields of California and kicked him out of the house when he returned. John W. McNinch Wham returned to his Father’s home and got Mary Jane Humphrey pregnant and did the right thing by her by marrying her.
Two girls were born initially to the union of John W. McNinch Wham and Mary Jane Humphrey, Ellie Olives Wham (abt 1852) and Mary Mollie Wham (abt 1853). Neither child lived to adulthood. It is likely that John McNinch Wham remained in Illinois with his new wife until sometime in early 1854. This assumption is based on the birth of children within the two families and land acquisitions.
Note the time interval of four years between the birth of Matthew Wilson Wham and Calavaras Wham in the Arkansas family.
The Bureau Of Land Management has John W. McNinch Wham obtaining 25 acres in Washington County, Arkansas on 15 Nov 1854 and 40 acres in Benton County, Arkansas just across the county line on 1 Feb 1860. The Arkansas census in 1860 in Ball Township, Benton County reflects the following:
John Wham 34 M
Elizabeth Wham 25 F
(Matthew) Wilson 10 M
Calavaras 6 F
(Hannah) Isabella 4 F
Bethsheba 2 F
(Vesta Oleva) Vesta 2/12 F
After the 1860 Arkansas census, it appears the Wham family moved to Texas to avoid the carnage of the Civil War. The Devin Family, which included James C. Devin who went to the gold fields with John W. McNinch Wham, also moved to Texas. The Devin group had three children while in Decatur, Wise County, Texas; one in 1860, 1863, and 1866. John W. McNinch Wham and Elizabeth, while in Texas, had Joseph S. Wham in 1863 and Alice McNinch Wham was born when they returned to Arkansas in 1866. I suspect that the two families went together. The Devin family is related to the Crawford and Wilson families.
The early 1860’s time frame brought much unrest to the border area between Arkansas and Missouri. Those who remained, suffered the wrath of both sides of the war. Travelers through Northern Arkansas after the conclusion of hostilities found total devastation. Fireplace chimneys were the only evidence left to identify farmsteads.
In 1869, the family moved to Baker County, Oregon without John W. McNinch Wham. The following was taken from a biography of Matthew Wilson Wham, 1902, Baker County, Oregon: “ It was in 1869, that with others he made the weary journey from his eastern home to Clackamas County, Oregon by the means of ox teams. For three years, he remained there and then came to the east side of the Cascades and settled on Willow Creek. Two years later, in 1874, he came to his present place and located. He has a fine stock farm and abundance of water. He has continuously been engaged in raising stock since the date of his settlement, except the time that was spent in the Indian Wars in the late seventies, where he did some good service.”
The 1880 Oregon census is as follows:
Wilson Wham 30 M
Vesti O Wham 20 F
Joseph S Wham 17 M
Allice M Wham 14 F
Hannah Devin 75 F
Caleb Cornet 42 M
Hannah Isabella Wham had married George M. Dallas Whited on 1 Jan 1875 in Baker County and was not with the Wham family in the 1880 census.
I have no record on the location of Elizabeth, Calavaras, or Bethsheba. It is possible they died in Arkansas which generated the move to Oregon and the return of John W. McNinch Wham to his second wife in Illinois. Another possibility exists for Elizabeth M. (Wilson) Wham. An internet publication titled “ Lonely Burials” states the following: “In the Hereford area, buried on the hill above the old Butts place is a woman related to the Wham’s or Whited’s of Unity. Her name is unknown, the old-timers called her Aunt Polly.” Polly is a nickname for Mary and the middle initial of “M” may stand for Mary.
Hannah (Crawford) Devin was 75 years old in the 1880 census. She lived next to the Wham family in Arkansas and went with them to Oregon along with other Devin’s. Grandmother Devin died on 6 Feb 1882 and is buried a short distance from the graves on the Boyer Ranch in the Hereford area. There seems to be a close relationship between the Wham’s and the Devin’s. Grandmother Devin was probably with them in Texas, too.
Vesta O. Wham married Mr. Thompson. Joseph S. Wham married Alice McNinch. She may have been his sister. They are all buried in the Unity Cemetery in Baker County, Oregon which Sue and I visited and photographed in 2004.
Wilson and Joseph Wham were active in the Hereford and Unity communities. Joseph Wham served as Director of the Hereford School District #30 in 1889. Wilson Wham served in the same capacity in 1890 and 1891. The Wham-Butts-Ramos Ranch is listed in the Baker County history as a productive ranch in the Hereford Valley. The Wham-Whited-Hardy Ranch in the Unity area received the same accolades. George Whited and Joseph Wham built the Whited Reservoir to supply water to their ranch. This fact leads me to believe that Wilson’s ranch was in the Hereford Valley and Joseph’s ranch was in the Unity area.
A remarkable construction effort, the “Eldorado Ditch”, carried water for placer gold mining from the Burnt River above Unity over Eldorado Pass to Malheur City. It was started in 1863 and by 1878 was carrying water for more than 100 miles. The main ditch was five feet wide at the bottom and seven feet wide at the top. The ditch was the source of considerable controversy between miners and ranchers because it took water resources from the ranchers.
The Wham’s were no doubt involved in this disagreement. The fight over water became serious when guns and dynamite got involved. The miners had built a ditch, flume and trestle to carry the water to the mines. It was attacked several times; blown up one time and burned another. Armed guards stood watch over the trestle day and night, but clever ranchers attacked from afar. Hiding upstream, they floated sticks of dynamite down the water with fuses timed precisely to blow up as they reached the trestle. The guards stood unaware of the danger until it was too late. The dispute was finally settled in favor of the ranchers after a long court battle, primarily, because the ownership of the mines was facing declining profitability in the mining operation and lost interest in the venture.
John W. NcNinch Wham returned to his other family in Marion County, Illinois and did not go to Oregon. The 1860 Illinois census in Marion County, Illinois reflects that John W. McNinch Wham was insane. He contacted malaria during his service in the Mexican War which could account for the insanity call. Of course, this is not the only possible explanation considering the hardships of the time and his balancing act with two wives. Needless to say, John W. McNinch Wham spent a lot of time on the road between his two families when you look at the frequency of his children. John W. McNinch Wham died in 1870 from typhoid fever.
My Aunt Ruth Wham Secor recounts a story of Franklin Lafayette Wham, my grandfather, and Stuben Dekalb Wham, his brother reminiscing in later years with tears in their eyes about the fact that none of the family wanted them after the death of their parents, but all of their sisters immediately found homes to go to. In that same conversation, they mentioned that their father, John W. McNinch Wham would have spells where he was entirely all right, but then would wander away as if he was lost.
The 1870 Illinois census in Marion County after the death of John follows:
Mary Wham 36 F
Stuben Wham 15 M
Joseph Wham 9 M Martha Wham 9 F Franklin Wham 6 M Isabel Wham 3 F Francis Humphrey 20 M
Mary (Mollie) Wham was born on 27 Jun 1871 after the death of her father. Mary Jane (Humphrey) Wham died in 1872 leaving six children to be divided up among the family and others. John W. McNinch Wham and Mary Jane Humphrey produced six children who lived to adulthood: Stuben Dekalb Wham B 26 Oct 1855 D 18 May 1941
Joseph Energy Wham B 26 Jun 1861 D unk
Martha Ellen Wham B 26 Jun 1861 D 8 Dec 1942
Franklin L. Wham B 10 Nov 1863 D 11 Mar 1945
Isabella Wham B 21 Jun 1867 D 28Aug 1935
Mary McNinch Wham B 27 Jun 1871 D 14 Mar 1941 John W. McNinch Wham and Elizabeth M. Wilson produced seven children who I assume lived to adulthood:
Matthew Wilson Wham B 26 Oct 1848 D 1917
Calavaras Wham B 1854 D unk
Hannah Isabella Wham B 1856 D 1939
Bethsheba Wham B 1858 D unk
Vesta Oleva Wham B 4 May 1860 D 2 Sept 1913
Joseph S Wham B 1863 D 1917
Alice McNinch Wham B 1866 D 25 Nov 1944
If correct, John W. McNinch Wham had two families at the same time and fathered thirteen children that lived to adulthood. At this time, I would like to review what I know about the thirteen children sired by John W. McNinch Wham:
(1) Steuben Dekalb Wham was born 25 May 1855 in Marion County, Illinois and died 18 may 1941 in Cartter, Marion County. He married Effie Florence Morton 31 Jul 1879. They had seven children. He was a farmer, teacher and blacksmith. He graduated from the Southern Illinois Normal University at Carbondale. He was raised by Thomas Jefferson Wham after the death of his parents.
(2) Joseph Energy Wham was born 26 June 1861. He was a fraternal twin to Martha Ellen Wham. Family tradition has him disowned for bad behavior. He may have gone to family members in Tennessee as family history reflects. The 1880 US Census has a Joseph Wham, age 18, working for Elisha Sawyers as a farm laborer in Clear Lake, Mississippi, Arkansas. It is interesting to note that Hannah Devin, the adopted grandmother of the Oregon Whams, was born to James Crawford and Nancy Sawyers who were married in Lincoln County, Tennessee in 1827. The Sawyers family may have taken in Joseph Energy Wham when Mary Jane Humphrey Wham, John W. McNinch Wham’s second wife, could no longer handle him for reasons unknown.
(3) Martha Ellen Wham (Sis) was born 26 June 1861 in Marion County, Illinois and died 8 Dec 1942 in Wheatland, Wyoming. She married Peter Bubb Johnson on 14 Feb 1882 in Marion County. They lived in Centralia, Illinois before coming to Wyoming in 1919. They had seven children. They were involved in dry farming in Wyoming. The 1880 US Census has Martha Ellen, age 18, dress maker, boarding with the widow Elizabeth Boland. She may have raised her after her parents died.
(4) Franklin Lafayette Wham (French) was born on 10 Nov 1863 in Salem, Marion County, Illinois and died on 11 Mar 1945 and is buried in the Lakeside Memorial lawn Cemetery at Folsom, California. He was named for his Father’s half brother who died at Andersonville Prison during the Civil War. Franklin married Mary Abigail Sperry on 3 Mar 1895 in Marion County. They had six children that lived to adulthood. He was a farmer, teacher and railroad man. He was raised by Robert McMillan Wham after his parents died. He is our direct line.
(5) Isabella Bell Wham was born 21 Jun 1867 in Marion County, Illinois and died 28 Aug 1935. She is buried at Wham Hill Cemetery. She never married. She was raised by Aunt Isabella Jane (Wham) Storment and lived with that family until her death.
(6) Mary McNinch Wham (Molly) was born 27 Jun 1871 in Marion County, Illinois and died 14 Mar 1941 in Havelock, Iowa. She married Andrew Crawford on 17 Mar 1887. They are both buried in a country cemetery east of Plover, Iowa. They had five children. Mary was raised by George and Ann Tweed after the death of her parents.
(7) Matthew Wilson Wham was born 26 Oct 1848 in Washington County, Arkansas and died 6 Aug 1917 in Baker County, Oregon. He married Frances Hill on 20 Jun 1883 in Baker County, Oregon. They had six children. He was a rancher.
(8) Calavaras Wham was born in 1854 in Washington County, Arkansas. She is listed on the 1860 Arkansas Census in Ball Township, Benton County as a six year old female. No information is available after that date.
(9) Hannah Isabella Wham (Bell) was born in 1856 in Washington County, Arkansas and died in 1939 in Baker County, Oregon. She married George M. Dallas Whited on 1 Jan 1875 in Baker County. They had one child. The Unity, Baker County History has Jim and Belle (Wham) Brown as early sawmill operators. James A. Brown was her second husband.
(10) Bethsheba Wham was born in 1858 in Washington County, Arkansas. She is listed on the 1860 Arkansas Census in Ball Township, Benton County as a two year old female. No information is available after that date.
(11) Vesta Oleva Wham was born on 4 May 1860 in Washington or Benton County, Arkansas and died 2 Sept 1913 in Baker County, Oregon. She married Mr. Thompson. No other information is available.
(12) Joseph S. Wham was born in Texas in 1863 and died in 1917 in Baker County, Oregon. He married Alice McNinch Wham, probably his sister. He was a rancher.
(13) Alice McNinch Wham was born on 7 Mar 1867, probably in Benton County, Arkansas, after they returned from Texas. She married Joseph S. Wham.
UPDATE January, 21 2009: Drowning and Family of the 1st John McNinch Wham
According to family tradition John McNinch Wham (1st) was going for medicine for a sick child when he drowned in Cane Creek, Lincoln Co. TN on 19 Feb 1826. His wife, Hannah Crawford Wham, returned to her Crawford family and eventally moved to Washington Co., Arkansas. There is no evidence of the sick child surviving or other children. She married Irbin Divin and raised a family in Arkansas. The family became very close to the family of John W. McNinch Wham ( 2th) ,who was born about the time of his death and was his "name sake". It is possible that the two families went to Texas together to avoid the raveage of the Civil War and later to Oregon.