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.
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 them all out.
The census records indicate that she was born in the early 1840s in Ohio. She should be in the 1850 census as a young girl, but there are no Salucia Clarks, Sophronia Clarks, or other variations in the 1850 census in Ohio.
So how do we explain how a 15 year old girl shows up in the Iowa frontier, gets married, and has no family ties? Did she run away? Was she an orphan? Did she stay behind as her family continued their move even farther west? Did she change her name? Did she lie about her age? Did her family disown her? Or is she just hard to trace.
To make things even more interesting, family stories describe her as an unfit mother, although she had thirteen children according to her obituary, and ten lived to adulthood. Eleven children have been identified. A daughter, Ellen, died young, and perhaps a couple of others whose names are not known, although there aren't any obvious gaps between known children. 1860 and 1870 census records show that Elizabeth lived with other Squibb family when she was six and sixteen, which is a bit odd, and could indicate some family problems. Some stories even have her being in a mental hospital, but nothing has been found indicating that is true.
One tidbit in the Feb. 10, 1876 issue of The Athens (Ohio) Messenger tells of a Sophronia Clark, resident of the Ross county infirmary, was being held for suspicion of infanticide. But our Salucia Sophronia was married, with the name Squibb, by this time, and lived in Iowa, so this doesn't seem like the right person.
It seems this mystery will remain until new evidence is found. Maybe someone tracing a Clark family will find evidence of her. Maybe some court record will give a clue.
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| Salucia Squibb ca 1910 |
The census records indicate that she was born in the early 1840s in Ohio. She should be in the 1850 census as a young girl, but there are no Salucia Clarks, Sophronia Clarks, or other variations in the 1850 census in Ohio.
So how do we explain how a 15 year old girl shows up in the Iowa frontier, gets married, and has no family ties? Did she run away? Was she an orphan? Did she stay behind as her family continued their move even farther west? Did she change her name? Did she lie about her age? Did her family disown her? Or is she just hard to trace.
To make things even more interesting, family stories describe her as an unfit mother, although she had thirteen children according to her obituary, and ten lived to adulthood. Eleven children have been identified. A daughter, Ellen, died young, and perhaps a couple of others whose names are not known, although there aren't any obvious gaps between known children. 1860 and 1870 census records show that Elizabeth lived with other Squibb family when she was six and sixteen, which is a bit odd, and could indicate some family problems. Some stories even have her being in a mental hospital, but nothing has been found indicating that is true.
One tidbit in the Feb. 10, 1876 issue of The Athens (Ohio) Messenger tells of a Sophronia Clark, resident of the Ross county infirmary, was being held for suspicion of infanticide. But our Salucia Sophronia was married, with the name Squibb, by this time, and lived in Iowa, so this doesn't seem like the right person.
It seems this mystery will remain until new evidence is found. Maybe someone tracing a Clark family will find evidence of her. Maybe some court record will give a clue.
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