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How Elizabeth Blessing’s Inheritance Was Stolen (Part 1)

While writing the stories about my direct Blessing ancestors, Abraham and his children, I came across a tragic tale that befell Abraham’s siblings who joined their parents in Ohio in the early 1820s.

While each sibling had their share of misfortunes, the one I found the most reprehensible was how Elizabeth was robbed of her inheritance from her father Lewis Blessing. To get the full story, however, I need to start with Lewis’s death and Elizabeth’s brother and sister, John and Mary.

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Blessing Sisters Story Part 4
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Blessing Sisters Story Part 4

This is a multi-post series about the Blessing Sisters. Anna Eliza Blessing Winney is my 3rd great grandmother. You can see all of the posts in the series here: Blessing Sister Stories

Elizabeth Blessing Adjusts to Wisconsin

Although the farmland along the Mississippi River in the southwest corner of Wisconsin reminded her of home in Missouri, Elizabeth missed her brother and sisters terribly. Her father spent up to twelve hours each day in the mine, and when he returned home, he collapsed from exhaustion.

She distracted her mind by making the small cabin homey and ensuring Abraham was eating decent meals to keep his strength up for the grueling tasks. He had stressed his desire to bring her brother and sisters here, and she determined to have the house ready, no matter how cramped it might be.

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Blessing Sisters Story Part 2
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Blessing Sisters Story Part 2

This is a multi-post series about the Blessing Sisters. Anna Eliza Blessing Winney is my 3rd great grandmother. You can see all of the posts in the series here: Blessing Sister Stories

Restless Virginians

The Ohio-bound Blessings weren’t the only Virginians to feel the urge to move. Starting in mid-1825, when James Monroe’s presidency ended, Virginians were surprised by an unfamiliar status. “Four of the first five presidents were Virginians who guided the nation through its first three decades. But now, the political stature of Virginia declined on the national stage when no successors of ability emerged to replace the Founding Fathers.

The state had lost power in Congress because of population shifts. ‘What has become of our political rank and eminence in the Union?’ worried Benjamin Watkins Leigh. ‘Virginia has declined and is declining.’ (10) Continue reading →