Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Cabinet Photo of Charles Fordice; taken by La Harpe Illinois studio





Cabinet photograph taken by the Robinson studio of La Harpe, Illinois, of Charley Fordice.  The only identification or written material is on the front of the photograph.  


This photograph was found with a collection of photographs of people from Iowa and surrounding states from an antique shop in Maine.  Some of the people are definitely related; some appear to be tangentially related; others may be acquaintances or have no relationship at all.  Check the archives for September and October of 2010 - the titles of some posts during that time may have significance for you.


I found a Charles Fordice who enlisted from McLean County, Illinois and served in the Civil War, which he survived.  


From online research, hopefully correct:


I don't have a birthdate for this Charles Fordice, but it's possible he was the son of Stanton Hunter Fordice [evolved from Fordyce] and his wife Kesiah (Kenison) Fordice.  Interestingly, some members of this family lived in Iowa at some point; perhaps there is a relationship to the people in the Iowa photographs after all.


Stanton Hunter Fordice Jr. was born 31 March 1805 in Ohio, the son of Stanton Hunter Fordice and his wife  Susanah Marsh, both born in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, to families originally from New England, possibly Planters or Loyalists.


Kesiah (Kenison) Fordice was born 28 August 1805 in Dearborn, Maine [now Oakland], the daughter of Joab Kenison and his wife Anna (Holmes) Kenison, who eventually moved west for land in Ohio.  Kesiah married Stanton Hunter Fordice in Ohio in 1827.  They raised a large family.  


I can find information on some of their offspring, but Charles seems to get short shrift.  He doesn't even show up in some family trees of Stanton and Kesiah (Kenison) Hunter.  Perhaps he is not their son at all, but was a relative visiting with them when the Civil War broke out.  I found records of his Civil War service and a pension form for his minor child, but no other information about his wife or that child's name.  


There's another Charles Fordice or Fordyce living in Wisconsin in the 1860 and 1870 Census enumeration of the household of Stanton Fordice, who is related to Stanton Hunter Fordice through their mutual grandfather John Fordice, born 1740.  This Charles Fordice may be the one who served with the 4th Wisconsin Volunteers Infantry/Cavalry.  It's possible that he also may have enlisted with a McLean County, Illinois unit.  I find some online trees showing the offspring of Stanton and Sarah (Belle) Fordice, and, again, there is no Charles.


Hopefully a reader will solve the mystery, not just of the Charles in the photograph, but of the two Charles' described above.


If you have any corrections, additions or insights regarding the information presented above, please scroll down to the bottom of the page to the comments box or contact me directly.  Thanks for stopping by!

No comments:

Post a Comment