Nelson Houseworth, the eldest child of Solomon and Melinda(who had 7 children by a previous marriage) was born in 1837 in Delaware County, Ohio. Making it easier to trace my family through the mid and later 1800s was the fact that Nelson married his cousin(first one no less) Mary Ann Houseworth on July 12, 1859. I was rather surprised, but as I got more into genealogy research, I came to find out this was not an uncommon practice back in the day.
Nelson served with the 186th Ohio Volunteer Infantry for a brief time during the Civil War. His service record is disputed and documented later in these writings...his war record none-the-less was suspicious to me(I do have his and other Houseworth military Civil War records).
After his service Nelson returned to Mary Ann and lived in the Waldo area of southern Marion County, Ohio. The couple had 11 children, 7 born in Waldo and the others in Blue Creek Township, Paulding County, Ohio.
Nelson, Mary Ann, and the families of his brother Jacob, along with the cousin families of Crawford and Sidney Felkey moved to Paulding County in late 1872. Blue Creek Township located on the southern tip of the county was then on the south edge of the "Great Black Swamp", Nelson lived out his remaining years and died of typhoid fever at the age of 50 on November 3, 1887. He is buried with a Civil War veteran grave stone in Blue Creek Township Cemetery.
[photos: OVI Enlistment of Nelson Houseworth February 1865/ Grave at Blue Creek Township Cemetery, Paulding County, Ohio/ Only known photo of Nelson, taken on his wedding day July 12, 1859.
prh
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