A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for Jane Stamps (Jennie) Brown
From her death certificate, her parents were Capt. Geo. M. Brown and Sarah Alexander. "History of Saline County, Missouri", in the biography of Micajah C. Sandidge, says that her father was Captain Mason Brown, but she was Mrs. Jennie S. Sappington when she married Micajah. Martin Sandidge says that her name was Jane S. (Jennie) Brown and that William B. Sappington was her first husband. "Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002" on Ancestry.com lists a marriage between Wm. B. Sappington and Jane S. Brown on 25 Jun 1867 in Saline Co., MO.
Middle name of Stamps comes from her death certificate. In the Ingle Family Tree on Ancestry.com (see http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/113287/person/-2030374171), she is listed as Jane "Jennie" Stamp Brown, but one of her grandmothers is shown as Jane Stamps and there is a copy of a bible page at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/113287/person/-2070026905/media, where I think it says Jane Stamps Brown, with the final "s" being hard to make out. The bible page lists her birth date as 21 Apr 1850. Information from Ridge Park cemetery gives her birth date as 20 Apr 1850, but the death certificate agrees with the bible page.
On her death certificate, Jennie's occupation is listed as "Matron - Mo. Colony", which refers to the Missouri Colony for Feeble Minded and Epileptic. A death notice for her daughter Celeste (see the notes for Ida Celeste Sandidge) mentions that Jennie was "connected with the Missouri Colony since its organization". The Colony was in Marshall, but it was an institution that served the entire state of Missouri. It was initially created in 1899 and opened to begin accepting patients in April 1901. Some collections of Biennial Reports are available from Google Books. Jennie Sandidge first appeared in the report for 1905-1906, listed as a supervisor. Her daughter Sara was also listed, as a teacher. Jennie may have been working at the Colony before that, as the death notice said, but the earlier reports had less information about the employees. Jennie was not listed in the report for 1907-1908, but then was listed as a seamstress in the report for 1909-10 (matching her listing in the 1910 census as a seamstress at the Missouri Colony for Feeble Minded and Epileptic). The report for 1909-1910 was the first one to list all of the Colony employees, so Jennie may well have been there as a seamstress in previous years as well (she is also listed as a seamstress in the 1900 census). Google Books has another volume of Biennial Reports after 1910, which can be searched but not viewed in its entirety, showing Jennie Sandidge as Matron, but I can't tell for what year or years. The reports do not make it clear exactly what the position of Matron was, but she appears to have been in charge of the sewing and kitchen programs at the institute. For example, the "Matron's Report" consists of a list of the quantity of various items produced, such as work aprons, boys' suits, dresses, jelly, chili sauce, and sausage.
The Marshall Republican, 29 Mar 1901, p. 4 (obtained from Newspapers.com):
Recent Appointment.
Mrs. Jennie Sandidge of this city has been appointed assistant seamstress at the F. M. institute and began her duties this week. This appointment meets with the approval of all. The lady is an excellent seamstress, being both neat and swift and has a family who are entirely dependent upon her efforts for a livelihood.
Jennie had a daughter named Rena from her first marriage. I give some information about her because some people have mistaken her listing in the 1880 census to be Micajah's daughter Elizabeth from his first marriage. The 1880 census shows Rena Sandidge, 7 years old, living with M C and Jennie Sandidge. The household also included Jno T. Sandidge, Micajah's son from his first marriage; Mace Brown, who was Jennie's brother; and Preston Mayfield, possibly a brother or other relative of Micajah's first wife, Elizabeth Mayfield. Micajah's other two children from his first marriage were Minnie (Elizabeth), living with her aunt, Mary Sandidge Wilson, and Micajah Jr., living with his grandmother, Maria Isbell. "Portrait and Biographical Record of Lafayette and Saline Counties, Missouri" (Chapman Bros., Chicago, 1893) has a biography of W. A. Reynolds on p. 244, which states: "February 3, 1892, at Marshall, Mr. Reynolds was united in marriage to Miss Rena Sappington, great-granddaughter of Dr. William Sappington [this should be Dr. John Sappington], one of the organizers of Saline County. She is a daughter of William B. Sappington, Jr., now deceased, and was reared at Marshall, receiving her education at the St. Savior Academy." "Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002" on Ancestry.com lists a marriage between Rena Belle Sappington and Wm. Alex Reynolds on 3 Feb 1892 in Saline Co., MO. The 1900 census listed Jennie as having had six children, with five of them still living. Four children with Micajah were living with her in 1900, and "History of Saline County" says that they had another one who was already dead when it was written (Lenard). That leaves one more who must have been from her earlier marriage, and who would have been old enough to have left home (Rena). One last bit of information is that Mrs. W.A. Reynolds was the informant for the death certificates of Celeste and Genevieve Sandidge, and her address was given as the place of death for both of them. From the preceding information, Rena was their half-sister. Note that the Ingle Family Tree lists Rena Belle Sappington as a daughter under Jennie's first marriage and one of the bible pages shows her birth. (Ingle also mistakenly lists Jno. T. Sappington as Jennie's son; John T. Sandidge was Micajah's son from his first marriage.)
A further note on Jennie's first husband: William B. Sappington, the father of William B. Sappington Jr., was very wealthy and influential. One wonders how Jennie went from marrying into such a wealthy family in her youth to working in a mental institute in her later years. The Ingle Family Tree lists William's middle name as Baethell, which is what it looks like in one of the bible pages at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/113287/person/-2070026905/media. However, his middle name is known to have been Breathitt, and knowing that it is possible to see that the entry in the bible probably says Brethett or Brithett.
The name on her death certificate is Mrs. Jane Stamps Sandidge. Cause of death given as lobar pneumonia. Place of death given as Missouri Colony, Marshall Twp., Saline Co., MO.
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
Page generated on 31 October 2023