Person:Clarissa Keeney (1)

BIRTH-MARRIAGES: Will Co. IL records; 1850 IL census, Crete, Will Co. Joliet, IL Courthouse. Possibly deserted by second husband, Webster A. Castle. She reverted to first marriage name and remarried for third time 30 October 1862 to Hiram Moulton, also in Will Co. Cannot find her location in any Illinois census, 1860, 1870. Per correspondence with Terry Morgan, descendant of Webster A Castle, he deserted his first wife, Elizabeth, in 1857, moved to Illinois. She divorced him in Bridgeport (Danbury?), CT. in October 1858. Found on Ancestry (5/2007) an index to Civil War Pensions filed by widow Amanda Castle, so he must have served for a time.

UPDATE: 2000-09-14 Finally located her in 1870 Illinois census in Ward 5, Joliet, Will County under the name Clarisse E. Haskin, with two sons, John N. age 19 and Wm. L. age 16. Why is she still using the Haskin surname?

UPDATE: 2007-05-20: E-mail from Cliff McCarthy <camcca@charter.net> Corbin Collection, Vol. 3 (Berkshire Co.) CD-ROMTown of Pittsfield, Mass. Found both Clarissa's birth and that of her brother William.

JOLIET DIRECTORIES: No record of Clarissa Haskin or Moulton in Will Co. general directory 1872-73 or city of Joliet directories thereafter.

PROBATE OF THE ESTATE OF JOHN L. HASKIN: The widow is allowed, in exclusion of creditors, as her sole and exclusive property: Necessary beds, bedsteads, and bedding, for herself and her family Necessary household and kitchen furniture One spinning wheel One loom Wearing apparel for herself and her family One milk cow and calf for every four persons in the family

One woman's saddle and bridle   Fuel for herself and her family for six months  Other items 

The widow may take an equal value of other property or actual cash. The widow is also allowed one-third of the personal estate, after the payment of debts.

from Elijah M. Haines, The Probate Manual, Being a Complete Guide for Executors, Administrators and Guardians, Under the Laws of Illinois, with Practical Forms, <1856reprints.html> Chicago, Keen and Lee, 1856

Research July 16, 2007 at Joliet, Illinois Courthouse Land Record division. "Elizabeth Haskins to Fr. Elling a mortgage July 18. 1859 $80, Book 58, page 124, Monee, Illinois, released July 20. Apparently the widow Clarissa sold the property mentioned in the probate of John L. Haskin.

COMMENT: No record has been found after 1870 for Clarissa. No death record found to date (2004). The first two children born to her son William Lorenzo Haskin were named Clarence and Clara/Clarissa. Could she have died shortly after 1870 and been memorialized by these two children? This would be in keeping with Dutch tradition (Alice Goossen Haskin was of Dutch descent).