Henry Meldrum and Charity Lane

Henry Meldrum was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Probably near Columbia and West Hempfield. He was an only child of Samuel Meldrum and Ann Mariah Zell. His father and mother left Pennsylvania in 1836 and traveled to Ohio. There in Ohio in about 1849 Henry's father died. Quickly Ann Mariah left and traveled to Milton, Wayne, Indiana to be with her parents. We do not know where they had lived in Ohio. We have not found any death records for Samuel Meldrum.

The first picture of Henry we believe to be taken when he was first married. The second picture I received it from Charles Thomas Meldrum's family. It is a tin type. Notice the same beard. Henry owned a casket factory and made caskets for the Civil War. He knew how to blow glass and was an artist in carving wood. On the census he put his occupation as cabinet maker and farmer. We would like to know more about him. I have a copy of his will and what he left each child. After giving each child a few momentos, the majority of his estate was sold to pay any debts and to give each child a few dollars. He died 17 Sep 1896 in Rigdon, Grant County, Indiana.

He is buried in the Forrestville cemetery in Madison Co., Indiana. Rigdon is on the boarder of Madison and Grant. Even though he and Charity are not in the same cemetery, they are not many miles apart.

Charity Lane was born 15 Dec 1829 in Ohio. This is the only picture I have ever seen of Charity. George Raresheid Meldrum's family had a small copy that we took a photo of. It is reported that she had red hair. She came from the Lane family. It was confirmed time and time again that Henry married above himself by marrying Charity.

We know nothing of Charity's parents. She was born in Ohio. She was married in 1849 (before the 1850 census). It is one of my goals to find her parents. Other Lanes lived in Rigdon at the same time as Charity, but I have not been able to connect her with them.

She died 27 Aug 1871 in Rigdon, Indiana. and is bured in Independence cemetery. The stones at this cemeter were scattered around and later put back together with angle iron. The DAR published death dates and put Charity dying in 1870. We know this is incorrect bacause of the birth date of her last child. I am sure that Henry made her casket. We do not know cause of death. I have not found any obituary for either Charity or Henry. There were no death records at that time in the state of Indiana. I have contacted the sexton for the cemetery records and for the religious records. No records exist.The Methodist Church that they belonged to burned in 1863. It was rebuilt and collasped in 1910. A new church was built and burned in 1914.  The picture below shows the as it stands today.

Samuel Meldrum 5th child of Henry and Charity

Henry and Charity lost their 5th child. His name was Samuel (named after Henry's father).
He was born 21 Jul 1858 in Bentonville, Posey Twp, Fayette County, Indiana.
He died Apr 1859. This information comes from the family bible. I did not find a headstone
for him.

Ann Mariah Meldrum

Ann Mariah Meldrum was the 1st child of Henry Meldrum and Charity Lane. She was born 3 Nov 1840 in Bentonville, Fayette County, Indiana.  She was named after her fathers mother, Ann Mariah Zell. From her fathers estate she received 6 solid silver teasoons with the initials A.W.R. and a black tibit. She did not receive any money because she and her husband owed Henry $180.00 and this was taken out of her inheritance.

She married James Lane Francis 17 Jul 1870 in Grant County, Indiana. On the 1900 census she says that she has had 6 children and only two are alive. We are showing 8 children.

James Lane Francis was born 8 Jan 1850 in Indiana. He owned a painting and paper hanging shop.

Only two children lived.

James Lane Francis in front of his store. Sons, Aubrey (left) and Willie (right).

Mary Grace Meldrum

Mary Grace Meldrum was the 2nd child of Henry Meldrum and Charity Lane. Mary Grace was born 27 Jan 1853 in Bentonville, Fayette County, Indiana. After her mother died and left 10 children to raise, Mary Grace took over the family. I have heard that the boys were not happy with her strict control. Her baby brother was only a few months old. What an enormous job she must have had. She died on 13 Sep 1925. She is buried in East Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson, Indiana.

On 19 Feb 1884 she married Doctor Charles Estes Riggs in Grant County, Indiana. They had four children. The last two children died at birth. We have no names and no sex for these children.

Dr. Riggs had been married previously to Nancy E. Campbell, and Sarah A. Compton and had many children. He died before 1896 and I cannot find where he is buried.

Wedding picture of Mary Grace Meldrum

from left to right

Ann Mariah, Catherine Lutheria and Mary Grace

Catherine Lutheria Meldrum

Catherine Lutheria Meldrum was the 3rd child of Henry Meldrum and Charity Lane. Catherine was born 17 Nov 1855 in Bentonville, Fayette Co., Indiana. She married George Frank Safford on 15 Jul 1874. She was the mother to one girl and 2 boys. She died 29 Mar 1836 in Fairmount, Indiana

George Safford was born about 1854 in West Virginia. and died Apr 1933. Both Catherine and George were buried in the Jones Cemetery, Yorktown, Delaware County, Indiana.

William Henry Meldrum

William Henry Meldrum was the 4th child of Henry Meldrum and Charity Lane. He was born 16 Jun 1856 in Bentonville, Posey Twp., Fayette County, Indiana. While a small child, he came with his parents to Grant County where he lived and grew to manhood. After his fathers death, he took over the casket factory for a time. He was married to Martha Belle Rigdon, 9 September 1883. To this union were born 7 children, four sons and three daughters. In 1904 he moved to Hendricks County near Danville, Indiana where for many years he was a successful farmer.

William died 28 Oct 1935 and was buried in the Forestville Cemetery Madison Co., Indiana.

Martha Bell Rigdon was born May 1863 and died 1924 and was buried in the Danville South Cemetery in Danville, Hendricks County, Indiana. She was the dughter of Dr. Pryor Ridon for whom the town of Rigdon was named.

George Rareshied Meldrum

George Raresheid Meldrum was the 6th child of Henry Meldrum and Charity Lane. He was born 12 Jan 1860 in Fayette County, Indiana. The name George Raresheid came from the man his grandmother married after the death of Samuel Meldrum. He was from Germany, and I am told he was wealthy and loved by all the family.
George was an excellent swimmer, and when one of the boys from Rigdon tried to swim the Wasbash and nearly drowned, George saved him and was given a gold medal by the town.
He came to Utah in 1890. On the census he is listed as a painter and paperhanger and worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad in Salt Lake City, docorating the enterior of the passenger cars.
George and Frank were both member of W.O.W. (Woodworkers of the World). They bought adjoining property and Frank built a blacksmith shop and house west of his shop. George built a shop for his painting, with three rooms at the rear in which to live, as was the custom then.
 He was first married to Ellen Neal 12 Dec 1889 in Witchita Kansas.  Ella refused to have children. She died after seventeen years of marriage and many abortions. George took her body from Utah back to Kansas for burial.

He then married Charlotte Lilrus Reynolds Spencer who had 5 children with Leonard P. Spencer. Leonard Spencer had died at the age of 29 of pneumonia.

They were married the 23 Jan 1905 in Salt Lake City. 

One story told by a daughter was that she and a little sister and an older brother went with their father, George, to get produce from a farmer. They were in a wagon; George told them to wait. For some reason, the horses spooked and ran blindly toward the river. Just then a Model T Ford came by; there were very few cars then. George was on the running board and leaped for the horses' heads to stop them. George had always hated cars and said they would never replace the horse.

He had 6 children with Charlotte. 

On 11 Aug 1919 George went fishing. He stepped into a large hole in the Bear River, and as he was wearing hip boots to wade out, they filled with water and held him down. He drowned, with one of his sons trying to hold his head up.

He is buried in the Elwood Cemetery, Elwood, Utah as there was no cemetery in Tremonton.

Charlotte Lilrus Reynolds was born 12 Nov 1872 near Springfield, Clahoun County, Illinois and died 16 Nov 1926 in Odgen, Weber, Utaqh. She is buried in Brigham City, Utah.