When Menerva Ann Wagher was born in 1838, in New York, United States, her father, Phillip Wäegar, was 46 and her mother, Rosanna Vincent, was 33. She married John Calvin Dawson on 10 February 1859, in Knox, Illinois, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 6 daughters. She lived in Fairview Township, Livingston, Missouri, United States in 1880 and Strasburg, Emmons, North Dakota, United States in 1900. She died on 24 April 1920, in Chewelah, Stevens, Washington, United States, at the age of 82, and was buried in Chewelah, Stevens, Washington, United States.
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By 1829 Venus, Illinois had grown sufficiently and in 1832 was one of the contenders for the new county seat. However, the honor was awarded to a nearby city, Carthage. In 1834 the name Venus was changed to Commerce because the settlers felt that the new name better suited their plans. But during late 1839, arriving members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought the small town of Commerce and in April 1840 it was renamed Nauvoo by Joseph Smith Jr., who led the Latter-Day Saints to Nauvoo to escape persecution in Missouri. The name Nauvoo is derived from the traditional Hebrew language. It is notable that by 1844 Nauvoo's population had swollen to around 12,000 residents, rivaling the size of Chicago at the time. After the Latter-Day Saints left the population settled down toward 2,000 people.
Historical Boundaries: 1840: Knox, Illinois, United States
Illinois contributed 250,000 soldiers to the Union Army, ranking it fourth in terms of the total men fighting for a single state. Troops mainly fought in the Western side of the Appalachian Mountains, but a few regiments played important roles in the East side. Several thousand Illinoisians died during the war. No major battles were fought in the state, although several towns became sites for important supply depots and navy yards. Not everyone in the state supported the war and there were calls for secession in Southern Illinois several residents. However, the movement for secession soon died after the proposal was blocked.
English: from Middle English washer(e) ‘one who washes (something)’, hence an occupational name for a laundryman, or for someone who washed raw wool before spinning. Various other occupations, too, involved washing processes and the name may relate to any of these. For example, it may have denoted a man who washed sheep; some tenants on the manor of Burpham, near Worthing, in Sussex (where the surname is found from an early date), had as part of their feudal service to wash the flocks of their master.
Americanized form of German Wascher , a cognate of 1 above.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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