Robert Wesley Elder

Male26 November 1831–17 April 1908

Brief Life History of Robert Wesley

When Robert Wesley Elder was born on 26 November 1831, in Covington, Troy Township, Fountain, Indiana, United States, his father, James Elder, was 35 and his mother, Margaret Caldwell, was 27. He married Emma A Aughinbaugh on 19 May 1867, in Marion, Illinois, United States. He lived in Independence, Montgomery, Kansas, United States in 1880 and Sedalia Township, Pettis, Missouri, United States in 1900. He registered for military service in 1862. He died on 17 April 1908, in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, United States, at the age of 76.

Photos and Memories (2)

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Family Time Line

Robert Wesley Elder
1831–1908
Emma Aydlott Florer
1853–1940
Marriage: 24 December 1872
Clarence Florer Elder
1873–1920

Sources (10)

  • R W Elder, "United States Census, 1870"
  • Robert W Elder, "Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940"
  • Robert Wesley Elder, "Find A Grave Index"

Spouse and Children

  • Marriage
    24 December 1872Kinmundy, Marion, Illinois, United States

    • Children (1)

    Parents and Siblings

    Siblings (11)

    +6 More Children

    World Events (8)

    1832 · Black Hawk War

    Age 1

    "The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of other tribes, known as the ""British Band"", crossed the Mississippi River, into Illinois, from Iowa Indian Territory in April 1832. Black Hawk's motives were ambiguous, but records show that he was hoping to avoid bloodshed while resettling on tribal land that had been given to the United States in the 1804 Treaty of St. Louis."

    1832 · The Black Hawk War

    Age 1

    Convinced that a group of Native American tribes were hostile, The United States formed a frontier militia to stop them in their tracks. Even though Black Hawk was hoping to avoid bloodshed while trying to resettle on tribal land, U.S. officials opened fire on the Native Americans. Black Hawk then responded to this confrontation by successfully attacking the militia at the Battle of Stillman's Run and then left northward. After a few months the militia caught up with Black Hawk and his men and defeated them at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. While being weakened by hunger, injuries and desertion, Black Hawk and the rest of the many native survivors retreated towards the Mississippi. Unfortunately, Black Hawk and other leaders were later captured when they surrendered to the US forces and were then imprisoned for a year.

    1856 · The Town of Santa Claus

    Age 25

    The town of Santa Fe was denied their application for a United States Postal Service as a town of Santa Fe, Indiana, was already established. Several meetings were held and the name was changed to Santa Claus, Indiana. The United States Postal Service granted their application. Due to the name, the post office in Santa Claus continues to receive thousands of letters to Santa Claus from children around the world each December.

    Name Meaning

    Scottish: distinguishing nickname from Middle English and Older Scots elder ‘parent; older, senior person’, perhaps in some cases denoting the older of two bearers of the same personal name. It may have been used also to denote an elder of a church, a senior and respected member of the congregation. Compare Senior .

    English: in southeastern England, this may be a variant of Helder .

    Americanized form (translation into English) of German Elter , which has the same meaning as 1 above.

    Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

    Possible Related Names

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