The Runyon & Orris Families

Only two of my Great Great Grandparents were born in the United States.  Gilford Runyon and Sarah Orris.  I began researching my family history 20 years ago and one of the initial decisions was to focus on the Quebec and then Swedish lines that make up the rest of my family.  The decision spoiled me.  The genealogical records from Quebec and Sweden are among the best in the world.  It made finding ancestors relatively easy even without the internet and within a few years I added a considerable amount of information to my research.  When I finally turned to my American lines I encountered an entirely different animal.  Instead of sitting down with a few microfilms and adding a dozen or so ancestors in a day with all vital record information complete, American research is limited to weeks, months and years of work to find one ancestor or one important date and in some instances I am still searching twenty years later. The difficulty in doing American research makes every find one to celebrate.  The expansion of the internet makes research ever easier but still Brickwalls exist.  When a direct line leads to a Brickwall, collateral lines sometimes yield clues.  The challenge also leads to collaboration  among descendants. 

The two families have a lot in common.  In both they lost their father at a young age leaving a mother to raise young children alone.  Mary Arthur Runyon gave birth to 11 children including one set of twins and Susan Densel Orris had 13 children over two marriages including an amazing 4 sets of twins.  When Asa Runyon died 9 children were living between the ages of 25 and 3.  Asa was raised in a Shaker community and worked as a Blacksmith, a profession he passed down to many of his children.  Mary Arthur was born into a slave owning family.  Since Mary moved away from her family, married a former Shaker and had children who fought for the union it seems likely she was not a supporter of the slavery cause.  When Joseph Orris died he left his widow in dire conditions.  The family had only moved to Iowa 5 years earlier, she was pregnant and she had nine children between the ages of 10 and 1.

Over time I would like to write one entry for each of the Runyon and Orris Siblings.

ASA GILFORD⁸ RUNYON - was born 20 Jun 1805 in KY, and died 19 Oct 1857 in Garrard, KY.  He married MARY FLETCHER ARTHUR 27 Aug 1836 in KY, daughter of AMBROSE ARTHUR and JANE FLETCHER.  She was born 04 Nov 1812 in Knox, KY.

       

Children of ASA RUNYON and MARY ARTHUR are:

i.     JOHN MARTIN⁹ RUNYON, b. 07 Jan 1832, Barbourville, Knox, KY; d. 12 Jul 1912, Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN.

ii     JAMES LOGAN RUNYON, b. 23 Apr 1833, Knox, KY; d. 11 Jul 1917, Barbourville, Knox, KY;  d. 29 Dec 1929, Henry, KY.

iii.   RICHARD A RUNYON, b. Feb 1835, Knox, KY. 

iv.   SARAH JANE RUNYON, b. 10 Jan 1837, Garrard, KY; d. 20 Jan 1875, IA.

v.    MARGARET R RUNYON, b. 01 Apr 1841, Barbourville, Knox, KY; d. 31 Mar 1902, Garrard, KY.

vi.   SILAS REID RUNYON, b. 31 Jul 1843, Knox, KY.

vii.  ASA GILFORD RUNYON, b. 16 Nov 1845, Garrard, KY; d. 21 Apr 1925, Johnson, IA.

viii. BELINDA B RUNYON, b. Apr 1848, KY; d. Bef. 1924.

ix.   WILLIAM T RUNYON, b. Abt. 1851, KY; d. 06 Sep 1852, Tetersville, Garrard, KY.

x.    GILFORD HEMPHEL RUNYON, b. 06 Sep 1854, Tetersville, Garrard, KY; d. 30 Jul 1933, Hartford, Hartford, CT.

xi.   RUNYON, b. 06 Sep 1854, Tetersville, Garrard, KY; d. 06 Sep 1854, Tetersville, Garrard, KY.

SUSAN ELIZABETH² DENSEL- was born 25 Sep 1819 in York, York, PA, and died 16 Jan 1877 in North Liberty, Johnson, IA.  She married (1) JOSEPH ORRIS.  He was born 26 Dec 1811 in PA, and died 02 Aug 1855 in North Liberty, Johnson, IA.  She married (2) CORNELIUS TOOHEY 10 Dec 1857 in Johnson, IA.  He was born Abt. 1822 in Ireland, and died 10 Apr 1879 in IA.

       

Children of SUSAN DENSEL and JOSEPH ORRIS are:

i.     DAVID³ ORRIS, b. May 1844, PA; d. 26 Nov 1901, IA.

ii.    LLOYD DENSEL ORRIS, b. 25 Aug 1846, PA; d. 10 Jan 1900, North Liberty, Johnson, IA.

iii.   ELIZABETH ORRIS, b. 18 Aug 1848, PA; d. 13 Mar 1930, Johnson, IA.

iv.   UNION GEORGE ORRIS, b. 18 Aug 1848, Mifflin, PA; d. 17 Dec 1930, Lake Park, Dickinson, IA.

v.    IOWA S ORRIS, b. 31 May 1850, North Liberty, Johnson, IA; d. 05 Aug 1872, North Liberty, Johnson, IA.

vi.   JOHNSON M ORRIS, b. 31 May 1850, North Liberty, Johnson, IA; d. Bet. 1905 - 1925.

vii.  JOHN HENRY ORRIS, b. 24 Jun 1851, Johnson, IA; d. 06 Jan 1923, Cherokee, IA.

viii. CATHERINE ORRIS, b. 24 Jun 1851, IA; d. 19 Jan 1861, IA.

ix.   SARAH MAY ORRIS, b. Mar 1854, North Liberty, Johnson, IA.

x.    JOSEPH ORRIS, b. 14 Jun 1855, IA; d. 18 Jun 1883, IA.

       

Children of SUSAN DENSEL and CORNELIUS TOOHEY are:

xi.   MARY ELLEN³ TOOHEY, b. Abt. 1858, Johnson, IA; d. 18 Dec 1944, Chicago, Cook, IL

xii.  MARGARET TOOHEY, b. 20 Jul 1859, Johnson, IA; d. 21 Jun 1946, Iowa City, Johnson, IA.

xiii. CORNELIUS KING TOOHEY, b. 20 Jul 1859, Johnson, IA; d. 20 Jan 1932, Carthage, Jasper, MO.