Person:William Mingus (3)

Reference an essay written by Eleanor Marvin: "William A. Mingus, s on of William E. and Hannah Lewis Mingus, was born 10-17-1833 in Salt Cre ek Township, Muskingum Co., Ohio. In 1855 William fathered an illegitima te son, Josephus Mingus. Josephus and his mother, Nancy Moore, lived ne ar Bishopville, Ohio, on a little creek. They were very poor. William of fered Josephus' mother a large sum of money if she wouldn't call the boy M ingus but she refused saying, 'Mingus he is and Mingus he will be called .' January 11, 1860 William A. Mingus married Cynthia Ann Vore, (marria ge recorded at the courthouse in McConnelsville, Morgan County, Ohio). S he was born 2-10-1837. She died of TB at the age of 37 and left three sma ll children. Children: 1. Arminta, b. 1862; 2. Perley, b. 1864; 3. Lol a, b. 1866. Arminta had a little girl, Blanche. Someone dropped her wh en she was very small and she was crippled from that. 6-19-1883 Arminta d ied giving birth to a second daughter, that also died. Blanche, the fir st baby, died soon after. William put up a tombstone in Sand Rock Cemeter y, now called Wilson Chapel Cemetery. After Cynthia Mingus died, Willi am boarded the children in different households as he worked to provide f or them. In later years Lovina Chambers, Cynthia Mingus' sister, ca me to make a home for William, herself, Perley and Lola. Lola had a ha rd life. She had been dropped, when an an infant, by a hired girl a nd as a result she was hump-back. Then when Lola was a teen she jumped o ff the schoolhouse porch and injured her knee. She was carried home whe re she went to bed and refused to move her knee. When she finally decid ed to try to walk, the leg was drawn up and she could not straighten it ou t. For the rest of her life she went about on crutches, the leg dra wn up behind her and covered by her long dresses. William left money so t hat Lola could be cared for (after he died), but she foolishly loaned it o ut to kin and neighbors. In those hard times, no one paid her back, so s he was moved around from one household to another, 'boarding' out what w as owed to her. In early 1911, William A. and his daughter, Lola, ca me to Sturgis, Michigan to visit Alex Mingus and his family. William deve loped blood poisoning in his leg, which turned into gangrene and he died M ay 10, 1911. Alex Mingus bought a burial plot in the Oaklawn Cemetery, St urgis, Michigan for William & Lola (per cemetery deed). Lola remain ed in Sturgis living with Alex and family until April 14, 1914 when Nett ie Mingus married Albert Pagels, then Lola went to live with them. I reme mber Lola as a tiny, quiet person, wearing long dresses with great full, l ong skirts, tight, high necks, with long sleeves. She wore her hair swe pt up in a bun on top of her head. Her skin was so delicate, I could s ee her blue veins showing on her hands and temples. I also remember Lo la sitting in a rocking chair and scraping apples for my oder sister, Doro thy, younger brother, Harold and myself. We kids would gather around h er chair and Lola would give each a teaspoon of scrapped apple, in tur n. When Lola got done scrapping the apple she had just a very thin skin a nd core left. She had apple scrapping down to an art. HA! In March 19 23 Albert and Nettie bought a farm in Sherman Township, Sturgis and mov ed there to live. Lola moved with them but in the fall she moved ba ck to Ohio, as all the bedrooms in the farmhouse were upstairs and were un heated. Lola would always go upstairs using her crutches but when she ca me down she would sit down and slide down. Lola died Jan. 3, 1940 at McCo nnelsville, Morgan Co., Ohio. Her body was brought back to Sturg is to be buried beside her father, William A. Mingus."

Reference obituary appearing on line at http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/gen bbs.cgi/USA/Mi/StJosephObits/16969

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