Ulmer Ancestry

(The following biography is by Esther Pope Bonta, and placed here for more insight on the lives of these ancestors.)

THE POPE FAMILY Compiled by Esther Pope .Bonta Stockton, California July, 1984     Our ancestor, PILGRIM POPE, was born in 1822 in Indiana, according to census records. While no definite proof has been found as yet, I believe that his parents could have been ELIJAH and JANE POPE.     Elijah Pope and his family were listed in the 1830 Federal census, in both Schuyler Co., Illinois (next to Hancock Co.) and Crawford Co., Indiana, which would seem to indicate it was at this time that they moved to Illinois. On 4 Jan 1836, 40 acres of land was sold to Pilgrim Pope for $50.00 in Hancock County, Ill.. Although Pilgrim would have been only 14 years old in 1836, no evidence has been found that indicates it was not “our” Pilgrim who purchased the land. In the 1840 census, Elijah and family is listed in Hancock County, on same page as the Cambrons.     Pilgrim Pope married Martha Jane Cambron, daughter of Thomas and Jane (Queen) Cambron, on 12 Jan 1843. They and their children are listed in the 1850 Hancock Co., Ill. census, next door to Elijah,  Jane, and family. Pilgrim died the 23 Nov., 1858 at age 36. His brother-in-law, Patrick Cambron was appointed by the court to be the children's legal guardian, necessary by Illinois law, even though their mother was living. Court guardianship papers give the name and and birth dates of these children, as well as the death date for Pilgrim, as entered on the enclosed family group sheet.     Martha Jane's mothers Jane Cambron, died 14 March, 1866; on 18 Aug., 1867, Martha Jane married as her second husband, Michael Cosgrove, in Hancock Co. She was widowed again when Michael died in 1883. Martha Jane’s date and place of death are unknown as yet, but it is known that she lived in Chicago after 1900 with her son, Alfred Pope, a barber. (16 Mar 1987--Martha Jane Cosgrove died 10 May, 1901 in Chicago, Ill; buried 11 May, 1901 in Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Pilgrim & Martha Jane’s third child was SAMUEL 0’NIEL/O‘NEAL POPE. His middle name was perhaps that of Martha Jane’s sister’s (Mary) husband who apparently died quite young. Samuel was born in Hancock Co., Ill on 10 Apr., 1846. Other than being listed with his brothers and sisters in the guardianship papers at the time of his father’s death, nothing is known about him until his marriage.     SAMUEL 0‘NIEL POPE married BARBARA JANE DYE, daughter of HARRISON & SARAH H. (POPE) DYE, on 5 April, 1870 in Pleasant Hill, Cass County, Missouri. Barbara was born 23 Feb., 1846 in Hancock Co., Ill.. Their first child, EDGAR PILGRIM POPE, was born 11 April, 1871 in Harrisonville, Cass Co., M0.. Their next child, Sarah (Sadie) Martha, was born 16 Oct., 1877 in Christian County, Mo.. A son was stillborn in Crawford Co., then Claud Allen was born 5 Oct.,1880 near Milford, Barton Co., Mo., after the family was listed in the 1880 Barton Co. Federal census. Listed with the family at that time was Barbara's mother and sister, Sarah and Susan N. Dye.     Barbara Jane (Dye) Pope was almost 42 years old when she died 24 Jan 1888 in Carbon Center, Vernon County, MO.; she is buried there in the Carbon Center Cemetery with her sister, Susan Mollisa, who died 10 Feb 1888. Her mother, Sarah H. (Pope) Dye, died 8 Jan 1893 in Edith, Camden Co., MO. and is buried there in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery (Near Macks Creek).     Samuel married the second time to Ann (Annie) HACK about 1896. Ann was born June, 1880 in MO. They and 3 of their 5 children, as well as Edgar, his wife, Sarah Jane, and their 4 children were listed in the 1900 Federal Census in Russell Township, Camden Co., MO. Both Samuel and Edgar are recorded in the Camden County land records as buying and selling land a number of times.     EDGAR PILGRIM POPE married SARAH JANE SKINNER at Roach, Camden Co., MO. on 16 March, 1893. She was the daughter of William HARRISON and POLLY (BURNS) SKINNER, and was born 28 Feb., 1862 near Macks Creek, MO. Their first child, Eunice, was born 25 Dec., 1893 in Edith, Camden Co., MO., William Pope was born in Almon, across the county line in Hickory County; Bessie Susan was born 13 Nov 1897 and Daniel Lincoln on 19 Nov., 1899 in Edith.     Samuel and Edgar had a saw mill at Edith, Mo., about 5 miles from Macks Creek where the Skinners lived. Samuel used to haul logs down to the mill with a team of oxen; the Skinner “boys” (brothers of Sarah Jane) used to help the Popes with the logging. They made rafts out of ties and used these to stand on to guide the logs down the river. Samuel and Edgar made what they called “patterns"; they sawed the complete number and sizes of boards necessary for a building. Most of the houses in the area were made of logs, and mud and small boards were used to fill in the spaces between the logs. All kinds of paper (including pages from catalogues) was used to cover the inside walls.     By the saw mill was a grist mill that Sarah Jane ran . She ground corn, wheat, etc., that people took to her, and she was usually paid with a certain amount of the corn meal, graham flour, etc., which she in turn sold to get her money.     Edgar was postmaster at Edith, MO. for a while. Today that area is under water, part of the Lake of the Ozarks.     About 1903, Samuel and Edgar sold their mill and they and their families moved away from Edith. Samuel, Ann, and their children went by team and wagons to Pineville, MO. Edgar and Sarah Jane and their 4 children went by train to the small town of Alluwe, Nowata County, Oklahoma. to work in the oil fields. They lived out of town on the “A. G. Phillips’ Lease.” Edgar did various jobs there as well as working as a pumper (he was a "steamfitter" by trade). William remembered his mother driving a horse and buggy into Alluwe to sell eggs.     In 1910, Edgar’s poor health made it necessary for the family to move to Pueblo, Colorado, where Edgar took a homestead. About this same time Samuel and his family also went to Pueblo and took a homestead, near Edgar’s. This was near “Peck’s Creek.” Samuel built the school-church building on one corner of his land; he donated the building to the school district. This is the school that the Pope and Nichols children attended.     Samuel was working on the road to the ranch one day when his horse stepped on a stick which flew up and hit Samuel on the mouth. The resulting sore on his bottom lip never healed and cancer developed. He died from it on 2 March, 1918 at 3:00 a.m. on his homestead.     Edgar worked in Pueblo as a "steamfitter" for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad for some years. Sarah Jane stayed on the homestead, and died at age of 60, on 31 July, 1922 after undergoing an operation. After Sarah Jane died, Edgar went to stay with his brother, Claud, in Washington for about 2 years, then stayed with his son, William and family, in Escalon, Calif. for 1 1/2 to 2 years, then returned to the ranch in Pueblo. Eunice had quit her job in town and stayed out on the homestead; she also took a claim on a homestead adjacent to Edgar’s. The house they lived in, in later years, was on Edgar’s homestead and was built after Sarah Jane died, and after Bess and Arthur Power were married; Eunice's one-room cabin (about 10 X 12’) was moved over and rooms were added to it.     Edgar died 15 Oct, 1952 in Pueblo; he is buried next to his wife, Sarah Jane, and near his father and half-brother, Samuel and Otto Pope.     In June, 1960, Eunice “broke up house-keeping;” she and Bess took a trip to California and when they returned Eunice made Rye, Colorado her home, on the ranch of Dan and Ina Pope. Eventually the ranch that had been Edgar and Eunice’s was sold.     William Pope died in Escalon, Calif. 4 June, 1963, Bess died 22 Dec., 1964 in Pueblo, Colo., Dan Pope died 27 Feb., 1973 in Colorado Springs, and Eunice passed away in Pueblo 11 March, 1984.

More information on the Pope Family can be found here