My third great-grandfather William CLONCH (1807-1863) had eight known children with my third great-grandmother Mary “Polly” DOSS (1816-bef. 1892). They were never married. Seven of the children were named in William’s last will and testament – with DOSS as their surname. Five of the seven were boys and used the CLONCH surname for the rest of their lives passing it on to their children.
Also mentioned in the will was his daughter Mariah Jane PATTERSON, née CLONCH. She was a child from his marriage to Ann Eliza HILL (1812-1895). There are several mysteries surrounding this wife.
In early records, the CLONCH surname was spelled CLAUNCH. William CLAUNCH, as he was seen in this entry, of Mason County, Virginia, married Ann Eliza HILL of Gallia County, Ohio, on 20 August 1832 in Gallia County.
They had a daughter Mariah Jane who may have been born about the time of the marriage or soon after. William CLAUNCH was found in the 1840 census in Mason County with a young female 5 and under 10 years old, assumed (by me) to be his daughter Mariah Jane, and a woman 20 and under 30 years old. In my early years of researching this family, as far as I could tell, most CLONCH researchers believed Ann Eliza HILL died or divorced William CLONCH however no record of divorce has been found. I suspect there is none as you will see in a moment.
1840 U.S. Federal Census
Mason County, (West) Virginia
Page 214
Claunch, William
1 male 30 & under 40 yo (William)
1 female 5 & under 10 yo (Mariah J.)
1 female 20 & under 30 yo (wife or common-law wife)
3 persons in household
1 person engaged in agriculture
The daughter Mariah Jane was married by 1850 and was never seen by name with her father on a census. On the census, she was 19 in 1850 and 27 in 1860.
The woman seen with William in 1840 could not be his wife as Eliza CLAUNCH was found in the census of Gallia County, Ohio, with two young males in her household. William and Ann Eliza were living in separate households in two states.
1840 U.S. Federal Census
Gallia County, Ohio
Galliapolis
Eliza Claunch
1 male under 5 yo
1 male 5 & under 10 yo
1 female 20 & under 30 yo (Eliza)
Were they her sons and sons of William CLAUNCH? When William made his will in 1862 he mentioned only his daughter Mariah Jane from his marriage to Ms. HILL – no sons! If Eliza had her own household, are we seeing Polly DOSS in William’s household? She would give birth to William’s son John William in December.
For a better understanding of what was going on I needed to discover what happened to Eliza in later years.
The marriage between William and Eliza may have been in difficulties early on. Who was to blame, William or Eliza, or both parties? The short of it is we know William never married the mother of his DOSS (later known as CLONCH) children. Was this because he was never legally divorced from Eliza? His wife Eliza, however, remarried as a widow!
Imagine my surprise when I found a record for Anna Eliza CLAUNCH, widow of Wm. C. CLAUNCH, marrying Andrew GAUSE on 26 March 1842 in Kanawha County, Virginia.
Ann Eliza HILL’s husband William CLAUNCH did not die between the time of the 1840 census and her remarriage on 26 March 1842. Could the names be a coincidence? Who was this lady who married Andrew GAUSE?
Let’s continue looking for Ann Eliza CLAUNCH, now Mrs. GAUSE. I followed the lady and her second husband as well as their descendants. Would the children she had with her second husband have her maiden name on their death records?
In 1850 she was with Andrew GAUSE in Lawrence County, Ohio, with five children.
1850 U.S. Federal census
Lawrence County, Ohio
Upper Township, Sheet 449A
Enumerated by me on the 16th day of August, 1850.
HH #8-8
Andrew Gause 28 M Miner Pennsylvania cannot write
Eliza Gause 39 F New York cannot read & write
Thomas J. Gause 14 M Ohio cannot read
Elinor Gause 12 F Ohio
Francis E. Gause 6 M Ohio
Henry F. Gause 4 M Ohio
Mary A. Gause 1 F Ohio
Benj. Bosner 28 M England
It is not known if Thomas J. age 14 and Elinor age 12 are children of Andrew and/or Eliza or Andrew’s relations. Neither have been traced in later census or other records. The three younger children were born after the marriage took place in 1842.
In December 1855 another son was born into the family. By 1860 all children seen in 1850, except for Henry F., were missing in the household and the surname was now spelled GAUZE:
1860 U.S. Federal census
Gallia County, Ohio
Ohio Township, South New Castle
Andrew Gauze 38 Pennsylvania
Eliza Gauze 48 New York
Henry Gauze 14 Ohio
Alexander Gauze 5 Ohio
Cynthia Ross 27 Ohio
John Ross 4 Ohio
John Thompson 28 Ohio
Frederick Ginder 17 Germany
Andrew GAUZE and his wife Eliza’s little family included only sons Henry F. and Alexander. These would be the only two possibilities of finding death records with the maiden name of the child’s mother.
In 1870 Eliza did not appear on the census however her two sons were found. Henry F., the elder, was married with two children living in West Township, Columbiana County, Ohio. Alexander at age 15 was living with a Johnson family and working as a coal miner in Canton Township, Stark County, Ohio.
Eliza’s husband Andrew GAUZE remarried in 1862. Did Eliza die soon after the 1860 census?
Andrew GAUZE and his new wife were found in the 1870 census, living in Rome Township, Lawrence County, Ohio.
1870 U.S. Federal Census
Lawrence County, Ohio
Rome Township, Page No. 16
Enumerated by me on 22nd the day of July, 1870. Wm H Sloan, Ass’t Marshal.
Bartramville Post Office
HH #120-115
Gauze, Andrew 48 M W Coal miner WV cannot write
Gauze, Lavina 30 F W Keeping house WV cannot write
Clarke, Geo. 15 M W Farm work WV attended school within year
Note: Lovina’s maiden name was Clark; George may be her relative.
Andrew and Lovina Jane were not found in 1880. On 27 March 1897 a 45 years old Levina GAUZE (was she Andrew’s widow?) was marrying the 70 years old Lem (Lemuel) BAILEY in Huntington, Cabell County, West Virginia. By 1900 the bride may have died as the groom is listed with his son on the Huntington census as widowed.
The search for Andrew GAUZE and his second wife Lovina Jane CLARK came to a dead end between 1870 and 1900. Or so I thought! I found Vina GAUZE (widow of Andrew) listed in the city directory of Huntington.What happened to Andrew and his second wife is not important to the continuation of Eliza’s story but I’d hope it would give me more clues.
What happened to Andrew and Eliza’s sons after 1870?
The older son Henry F. GAUZE was found in:
- 1880: Shiawassee County, Michigan
- 1890: Special Schedule (Stark County, Ohio)
- 1895: Clay County, Indiana
- 1900: missing; wife and children found in Saginaw County, Michigan
- 1910: alone in Saginaw County, Michigan (wife died in 1912)
- 1920: with another woman in Saginaw County, Michigan; he married her following the census in April and his parents were listed as father A. J. GAUZE, mother Eliza HILL.
The younger son Alexander GAUZE remained in Stark County, Ohio, and was found there at the time of the 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 census. In 1880 his mother Eliza GAUZE was found with him and his family:
1880 U.S. Federal Census
Stark County, Ohio
Canton Township, Page No. 24
Enumeration District No. 135, Sheet No. 300D
Enumerated by me on the 11th day of June, 1880. Henry R. Packer, Enumerator.
HH #200-208
Gauze, Alexander M W 25 married Miner unemployed 4 months during census year Ohio Virginia New York
Gauze, Sarah Jane F W 26 wife married Keeping House Ohio Pennsylvania Ohio
Gauze, Emery W. M W 4 son single Ohio Ohio Ohio
Gauze, Albert Byron M W 3 son single Ohio Ohio Ohio
Gauze, Howard Ellsworth M W 8/12 son single Ohio Ohio Ohio
Gauze, Eliza F W 68 Mother widowed New York New York New York
Eliza was listed as widowed even though her husband Andrew had remarried. Or did I follow the wrong Andrew GAUZE?
Finding her in the 1880 census with her son led to the death record of Ann Eliza GAUZE. She died in Howenstine, Pike Township, Stark County, Ohio, on 28 October 1895. Neither the names of her parents nor her maiden name were mentioned on the entry in the death register. New York was the place of birth, consistent with the 1850, 1860, and 1880 census.
[Source: “Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F665-HWB : 13 December 2014), Ann Eliza Gauze, 28 Oct 1895; citing Death, Howenstine, Pike Township, Stark, Ohio, United States, source ID v 3 p 184, County courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 897,621.]
Per her Find A Grave memorial, cemetery records show she was buried in Melscheimer Cemetery in Canton. Her son Alexander, as well as many of his descendants, are also buried in the same cemetery.
I left the sons’ death records for last. Her younger son Alexander died 7 February 1920 in Stark County, Ohio. His death certificate names Eliza HILL as his mother. There is a discrepancy on the name of his father.
Her older son Henry F. died a year later on 13 February 1921 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. No image of the death certificate was found however the indexed information shows the mother’s maiden name was HILL and the father’s name as Andrew.
Why did I spend so much time researching the GAUZE children of Ann Eliza HILL? First to prove the wife of my 3rd great-grandfather William CLONCH did not die. This may have been the reason he never married the mother of his children, my 3rd great-grandmother Mary E. “Polly” DOSS.
Secondly, I hoped it would lead me to more information on the children Eliza had with William CLONCH. Mariah Jane was the only child outside of his DOSS children he acknowledged in his will. She and her husband John PATTERSON protested the will in which he gave “three dollars to Mariah Jane Patterson.” The attorney they hired to represent them was not able to oppose the will and they had to pay the expenses of the court.
Is it possible Eliza and William had another child? I believe there is the likelihood of another child but who were his parents? Eliza and William, Eliza and another man, or William and another woman? Stay tuned for more to come.
© 2016, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.
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Opening Doors in Brick Walls 
I love all the sleuthing you’ve done. Great job! Now I want to know about this other “maybe” child! Maybe Ann Eliza knew my husband’s Bandy and Sturgell families in Gallia and Lawrence Counties. They were living in those counties at the same time.
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Thank you Linda. Wouldn’t that make for fantastic reading.
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You do a great job researching.
The thing is though, you keep finding more and more doors that need to be opened.
Thank your for the work you have done and for sharing it with the rest of us.
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Thank you Robert. You know I love this and keep doing it for all of you who keep me going. As long as I keep finding the keys I’ll keep opening the doors. You’re welcome dear cousin. You know I love sharing with those who appreciate it like you do.
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Amazing research down a very twisted path. Oh my! How these people married and remarried while their former spouses were still alive! I wonder if that was more acceptable back then—both legally and culturally. I would think not.
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I always thought I had the perfect ancestors who married, had children….until I began researching families in Mason County. They make it soooo interesting.
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And that’s what makes this all fun! Do you know more about your third great-grandparents and their relationship? All those children—they must have had quite a love affair!
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They appear to have lived together the entire time and I think they must have been very close and loving to have so many children. Polly grew up with a mother who never married and had 7 children. I think that taught her to want the father of her children in their lives. How are we to know if Polly was the independent one who didn’t need to have a marriage record or if William was a stickler about maybe not wanting to marry as long as he wasn’t divorced from his first wife.
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Fascinating. I think you could write a good novel about all these people.
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Well I’ve gotten a good start on it with the posts I’ve done so far:
A Little “Peyton Place” (Part I)
A Little “Peyton Place” (Part II)
and several during the first year of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. 🙂
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Ah, I must have missed those. Before my time? Or is my memory slipping!
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The first two were done for my Facebook page before I began blogging. I added them during the first months I was blogging. The 52 Ancestors were during the time we lost touch.
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OK, I will check them out.
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Once again, I’m amazed at the amount of research you do, Cathy! Although I am hugely interested in the Clonch genealogy, I can’t keep all of our inlaws and outlaws straight in my mind. I’m glad I have a cousin that can do this!
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They are fascinating and engrossing. When I can’t keep them straight in my mind — I have my database to help me. Thank you for stopping by fifthgrade998 *see I don’t know everyone’s name 😉
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I’m Pam Crist!
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Pam Crist!
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What I say is from my memory and close to fact. I am not a Doss but was adopted by a Doss family. The first Doss in America was John Doss born 1661, who came from a small village (Chedzoy?) in England as an indentured servant. I went to the village a number of years ago but no one had ever heard of the name, Doss. There was a Doss Family Association which disbanded a few years ago, and was headed up by Libby Griffin? who lived in the East. If you could locate her, she could probably help you with your line. She has written extensively and publlshed on the Doss Family in America.
If you look in the Parish Register Christ Church, Middlesex County, Va from 1653 – 1812 published by the National Soc of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia, you will see several Doss names.
One of the early Doss men married a Graves woman, who descended from the Taylor/Swinderly line; and it is believed some of the wives of some of those lines went back to English Royalty and Llewelyn the Great. You would have fun with that. Keep us apprised.
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Libbie Griffin helped me out with 52 Ancestors: #52 Levina DOSS – Another Unmarried Mother and How She Helped Me Bring This Challenge Finale to an End with a Bang! in December 2014. I wish she had more time to get back to doing genealogy. Thank you Caith for taking the time to write this informative comment.
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Thank you for the name of the book. I found it on https://archive.org/stream/parishregisterof00chri#page/n5/mode/2up
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Thank you so much for all of that information. I wished I had the time, money, and know-how to be able to just jump in there and do some sleuthing on my own. I know we had talked some time ago, and that we are cousins several times over (even if removed and at least on my part by marriage). This is so much fun. You sound like a person who could pass on a lot of hands-on experience to teach others. Praying I will run across you from time to time. Maybe we should skip across the border to look you up when we fly Space A to Ramstein Air Force Base. Once again, I really appreciate the work you do and share with us.
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Thank you Ute. I found our emails. It was back in 2011. I never followed up on your husband’s connection to the CLONCH line. Looks like I need to add some information to your husband’s great-grandmother Barbara Ann Clonch.
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