Louisa Boldrey (1818-1915)

Louisa Boldrey was born 25 Jan 1818 in Bentley’s Corner, Jefferson County, New York. She was the first child of Samuel Boldrey and his first wife Elizabeth Bentley, and my son-in-law’s 4th great-grandmother. Forty-eight years later, her grandson would be born on the same day.

Her parents moved before 1820 to Indiana, Samuel and his brother John are enumerated in the 1820 census in Manchester, Dearborn County. By 1830 they have settled in Ripley County, first in Johnson Township, and by 1840 in Franklin Township. The family had been moving before: John Boldrey, father of Samuel and John, was probably enumerated in 1800 in Bennington, VT, and in 1810 in Honeoye, NY. Quite a trek, Google lists the total distance (by expressways) as over 1000 miles.

One thing I noticed is that Samuel seems to have gone north first (from Honeoye to Bentley’s Corner); was he planning to go to Canada, but decided to join his brother on the trek west?

They must have moved one more time between the 1850 and 1860 census. In both they are living in Franklin Township, but 1850 in Ripley County, and 1860 in Pulaski County. They end their life in Winamac, Pulaski County.

Louisa married Joseph Agnew in Ripley County in 1836. They had twelve children, all but one reaching adulthood. But when she died in 1915 (after a fall in which she broke both arms and her hip, see her obituary in her page), she had survived all but five of them. Her husband had died 20 years before, and she was living with her daughter Elizabeth (Agnew) Keys in Winamac, Pulaski County.

She must have seen an enormous amount of change in the course of her long life. The first steam locomotive was invented in 1814, by 1915 Ford had made his Model T car a household item, and her son came by car to Winamac for her funeral; the first electric arc lamp was invented in 1807, by 1915 Thomas Edison’s light bulbs were everywhere.⁽¹⁾ Did she think her kids had it easy? Did she enjoy her many grandchildren? Was she content with her life, hard as it must have been? Questions to ponder.

(1) History of inventions at Explain that Stuff.