Family History Notes and Photos by Bob Mesenbrink

In my previous post, I mentioned several tidbits about the origins of the Squibb family. My Squibb ancestry goes back through Robert Squibb, who in 1721 married Mary Coebourne as reported in the Chester Monthly Meeting of the Quakers. As pointed out by RJF in his comment, the Coebournes had both Irish and Berkshire, England links, and had come from families of some social status and wealth. It is likely that Robert Squibb also had a similar background. Beyond that, nothing is known for sure. The Squibbs were centered in Dorset, England, southwest of Berkshire, but they had Berkshire connections as well. The Visitation of Berkshire, 1665-66 , includes a Squibb pedigree for a Robert Squibb , b. ca. 1606 in Winterbourne Whitchurch, Dorset, living at Reading in Berkshire, and wife Frances Castle. His eldest son was also Robert, born ca. 1642. He married Anne Beckingham. Neither of these Roberts could be the immigrant, Robert who married in 1721. If you look at family trees on Ancestry.

By all accounts, the Squibbs came from England. According to Lawrence G. Blochman, in his book  Doctor Squibb , "The earliest known English Squibb is believed to have been made a yeoman by Edward IV in the fifteenth century. His grandson was Great John the Yeoman of Dorsetshire. Great John's grandson, Nathaniel Squibb, came to Pennsylvania early in the eighteenth century, settled in Chester County and founded a populous family...." Most Squibb families today would trace their ancestry to this Nathaniel or at least to Robert Squibb who is thought to be his son. There are few records of him, despite the generally thorough records kept by his Quaker faith. Nevertheless, later Squibbs were in fact Quakers. But exactly when they took on this faith isn't clear. One early Robert Squibb actually held title to a large part of New Jersey in the late 1600s. Whether he ever set foot on that soil is doubtful. Some of the Squibbs were important officials and served in various

In genealogy, the female lines are generally more difficult to trace back, because women changed their surname after marriage, and records are generally less prevalent than for men. Salucia Sophronia Clark Squibb (my g.g. grandmother) is no exception. In some ways she should be easier to trace back than most as we have a marriage record for her and know the her maiden name was Clark. The problem is that she just shows up in Clinton county Iowa as a teenager, marries Robert Flemen Squibb, with no sign of relatives around, and few clues to go on. Salucia Squibb ca 1910 Clark is a fairly common name. There were several families by that name in Clinton county, Iowa in the time around November 26, 1857, when she and Robert married. There was a state census taken in 1856, and Salucia Clark doesn't show up there. She could have come after that, but it seems likely that she would have had family around still, and a thorough study of Clinton county biographies and census data has ruled

Robert Turner (b. 1851, d. 1911) was a Scotsman who immigrated to Iowa and lived in Des Moines. He bought the Iowa Boiler Works from his uncle, William Turner, my great great grandfather. The history of Des Moines, published by S. J. Clarke Publishing Company of Chicago in 1911 includes his biography in volume 2, page 1129. The interesting biography states that "He was born at Burnt Island, in Fifeshire, Scotland ... a son of Robert and Margaret (White) Turner." Then it gets very interesting. "The father was the seventh generation bearing that name and was born in 1816 upon the farm in Fifeshire which had been presented to the first Robert Turner by the Duke of Bucclench for valor in the early wars of the Highland." Now I love local history and genealogy and a good mystery so I set out to sort through this and determine how much of this was true. The biography provided a lot of detail with names, places, and dates, that I didn't include here. They provided a ba

Memorial Day always brings the reminders of what Memorial Day is all about, those who served our country in protecting our freedoms and way of life. And I think of Dad, who did his part in serving in World War II. But we have forgotten – really, we never knew – of the specific sacrifices made by our ancestors. With a bit of research, this is what I’ve discovered: Russell Lowell Mesenbrink (b. 10 March 10, 1915 near Dow City, Iowa; d. October 29, 1967 near Graettinger, Iowa) Dad served in the Navy from July 16, 1943 to November 8, 1945 during World War II as Ship’s Cook Second Class on the USS West Virginia, a battleship (BB-48). He was drafted at age 28 and would turn 30 before his service was done. During his “war cruise”, the ship left Bremerton, Washington, where it had been repaired and refitted after the attack on Pearl Harbor, for San Diego and then Pearl Harbor. On October 18, 1944, they arrived at the Philippine Islands, bombarding the beach at Leyte Gulf, and helping sink th

My father, Russell Mesenbrink was born near Dow City, Iowa in 1915 and grew up in Denison. He married Dorothy Stephenson, served in WWII, and lived in Clinton, Zearing, and Ruthven, Iowa. He died in 1967. Here he is, just a few months old, with Ben and Mildred (Brady) Mesenbrink.  Probably fall of 1915. Russ riding the wagon with his dad, Ben around 1917. This is Russ and his (double) cousin, Mabel Mesenbrink. Their dad's were brothers and their mothers were sisters. I think this is Herbert Mesenbrink with Russ. Herbert and Ben were cousins. This picture was taken around 1917. On the left is Frank Brady, Russ' grandfather. On right is Ben.  January 27, 1925 - Russ - 10, Donovan - 4, Virginia - 3, Junior - 6 mos. Harold and Russ Mesenbrink, around 1935. About 1940 - Mildred, Russell, Donovan, Janae, Virginia, Junior, Jarvis, Ben. About 1960 - Back from left: Jarvis, Don, Russ, Ben; Front: Janae, Mildred, Virginia. Russ in Mod

Dorothy Stephenson was born near Castana, Iowa in 1920. She grew up on farms between there and Denison, and graduated from High School at Dow City, Iowa. She married Russell Mesenbrink, and then Einer Appel. She lived in Clinton, Zearing, Ruthven, and Graettinger, Iowa. She died in 2008. The Stephenson Family, about 1935. Back from left: Dorothy, Lois, Edna, Edgar; Front: Lillian, Ardis, Inez, Wayne. Graduation from Dow City, Iowa in 1937. Her folks moved to Denison so she stayed with Bill and Cora Turner, her aunt and uncle, so she could finish school in Dow City. Picture taken at the carnival in Denison, about 1940. A little bit flirty... Taken about 1942. Russell Mesenbrink and Dorothy Stephenson. They were married October 18, 1941. Taken soon after they were married. Dorothy with sister Ardis. Russell was in the Navy from 1943 to 1945. Dorothy went out to Bremerton, Washington while Russell prepared to go out on the USS West Virginia. This is D