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FAMILY of CHARLES USHER, Jr. 1800-1885

CHARLES L. USHER, physician, son of Charles Lee, Sr., and Marvin (Palmer) Usher. See Usher Ancestors
- born 7 September 1800, Madison County, New York
- resided 1830, 1840 in Rockport, Cuyahoga, Ohio
- moved to Iowa about 1840
- occupation 1850, 1860, 1870 physician, Jackson County, Iowa
- occupation 1880 retired M.D., Jackson County
- died 7 February 1884, probably in Jackson or Clinton Co., Iowa
- buried in the old DeWitt Cemetery, Clinton County, Iowa
- married 14 Sept. 1827, Brooklyn (Cleveland), Ohio
NANCY MARIA DENISON, daughter of Dan Denison and Sally Bushnell
- born 20 July 1802, Saybrook, Connecticut
- died 26 January 1870, DeWitt, Clinton Co., Iowa, of consumption
- buried in the old DeWitt Cemetery, once known as Oakridge, located at 8th Avenue and 14th Street on the north side of the St. Joseph's Cemetery.

Gravestone Photo
Photo 2 The information that I have on this family is far from complete, but I'm including here what I have been able to find, as a springboard for further research, and as an invitation for sharing with anyone who connects with any of these people. On the Usher Farm, about 3 miles north of Maquoketa, Iowa, there was a cemetery, but it seems that the only Usher buried there is the young son of Hezekiah and Almine Usher, who died in 1878. It has been known as the Usher cemetery, or the Tilton Cemetery.

The Hon. James W. Ellis, in his Annals of Jackson County, Iowa, wrote about Dr. Charles Usher:

There was one character in our community in the early days, around whom my memory clings with feelings of deep veneration and fond affection. I refer to Dr. Charles L. Usher, a pioneer of the early forties and a good samaritan to the early settlers in every sense of the word. The doctor was a welcome guest in every cabin and never failed to respond to a call for help in sickness, day or night. He was a graduate of an Ohio medical college, and his greatest ambition in life, as he often told the writer, was to do all the good he could to his fellow men. His services were in great demand, but poorly paid for, and he was compelled to dig, dry and grind up and prepare the herbs that he used in his remedies. Many times the writer has helped him to dig and collect burdock, Indian cup, squaw cabbage, golden seal and many other herbs used by him. The doctor hated dogs and often remarked, that no family was too poor to afford several dogs. He was also bitterly opposed to the use of tobacco and intoxicating liquors. He lived to attain a great age, honored and respected, but died poor for the reason that he was a poor collector, had he kept an account of his services and looked after the collection of his fees as some modern doctors do, he might have been a wealthy man.
--Annals of Jackson County, Iowa. Reprinted from the Maquoketa Record, Published by the Jackson Co. Historical Society, 1905

Leverett Usher's obituary states that his father Charles Usher "was the nephew of Charles P. Usher, a member of President Lincoln's cabinet." That is an error, though it has a basis in fact. Leverett's father Charles L. Usher was actually the first cousin of John Palmer Usher who was Secretary of the Interior from 1863-1865.

CHILDREN:
1. Susan Amelia Usher,- born 7 July 1832, Rockport, Ohio,
   - married 5 March 1851, Jackson County, Iowa to
   Daniel Webster Forbes, son of John and Mary (Trowbridge) Forbes
   - born 1830 in Cortland County, New York
   - 1884, blacksmith in DeWitt, Clinton County, Iowa
   - died 6 May 1894 in Ida Grove, Ida County, Iowa
   

   Daniel W. Forbes, blacksmith, De Witt; born in Cortland Co., N. Y., in 1830; his parents, John and Mary Forbes, removed to Chicago in 1832; they located in Jackson Co., Iowa, in the fall of 1837; his father died in 1864; his mother still lives in Jackson Co. Mr. Forbes enlisted in 1861 in the 1st I. V. C., Co. B; served two years. He came to DeWitt in 1858 and engaged in the blacksmith business. He married, in 1851, Susan Usher, of Ohio; has six children--Charles G., Janette, Minnie, Elmer, Susie and Fitz W. Mr. Forbes was a member of Walker's filibustering expedition in 1856; except two years absence in the army, he has been engaged in his present business since he came to De Witt. "The History of Clinton County Iowa" by L. P. Allen (1879) BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF De Witt Twp.

   Daniel and Susan and their family moved to Ida Grove, Iowa, after 1880. Susan, widowed, was living with daughter Minnie Simons's family in Ida Grove in 1900.
   CHILDREN
   • Frances Janette "Nettie" Forbes, born 11 December 1851, in Iowa
     - married about 1873 to
     John J. Haskins son of Morris H. and Mary E. Haskins of New York
     - born 1850 in Indiana
     - 1880 and 1895 censuses, farmer in DeWitt, Clinton County, Iowa.
     CHILDREN
     • Nellie Haskins, born about 1874 in Iowa.
   • Charles Garrett Forbes, born 14 August 1853, in Iowa
     - occupation 1880 and 1900, Blacksmith, DeWitt, Iowa
     - 1920 census, living with his son Lee in Emmett, Gem County, Idaho
     - married about 1880 to Mary --- born November 1861 in Tennessee
     CHILDREN
     • Garrett Forbes, born July 1883 in Iowa.
       
     • Lee C. Forbes, born July 1885 in Iowa.
       - 1910 census, telegraph operator in S. Payette, Canyon County, Idaho
       - 1920 census, telegraph operator in Emmett, Gem County, Idaho
       - married about 1910 to Florence S. Osborne, born about 1889, Minnesota
       CHILDREN
       • Lee Forbes, born about 1916, Idaho
         
       • Dexter Forbes, born about 1923, Idaho
         
       • Garrett Osborne Forbes, born 20 July 1924, Idaho
         - died 26 February 1993, Woodland, Yolo, California
     • Mildred Forbes, born September 1891 in Iowa
       - 1910 census, living with brother Lee in Idaho
       
     • Mamie Forbes, born 1896 in Iowa.
       - 1910 & 1920 censuses, living with brother Lee in Idaho
   • John Sidney Forbes, born 24 Oct 1854. Not mentioned in Biographical Sketch of his father in The History of Clinton County, Iowa by Lucius P. Allen, 1879. Perhaps he died young.
     
   • Minnie Heffin Forbes, born 20 May 1856 in Central America, at sea.
     - married about 1879 to
     Everette H. Simons born June 1856 in Illinois
     - occupation 1900 Drayman, Ida Grove, Corwin Twp., Ida County, Iowa
     CHILDREN
     • Charles Simons, born December 1882 in Illinois.
       
     • Daniel J Simons, born September 1884 in Iowa.
       
     • Victor L Simons, born February 1891 in Iowa.
       
   • Mary Aurelia Forbes, born 30 June 1858, died 1860.
     
   • Herbert Lincoln Forbes, born 8 May 1860, died 1861.
     
   • Elmer Elsworth Forbes, born 11 April 1862
     - censuses 1910-1930, in Washington, D.C.
     - auditor in the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
     - married about 1886 to Nellie E. --, born Illinois
     CHILDREN
     • Florence M. Forbes, born July 1887, Iowa
       
     • Daniel R. Forbes, born January 1889, Iowa
       - 1920 census, lawyer in Evanston, Illinois
       - 1930 census, lawyer in Washington, D.C.
       - married about 1917 to Edna ---, born about 1892, in D.C.
       CHILDREN
       • Donald F Forbes, born about 1918 in Illinois
         
       • Helen E Forbes, born about 1920 in Illinois
         
       • Anne K Forbes, born about 1923 in District of Columbia
     • Helen E. Forbes, born March 1894, Iowa
       
     • Edward Forbes, born about 1902, District of Columbia
   • Eleanor Forbes, born about 1864 in Iowa.
     - listed in the 1870 census. No more information.
     
   • Susan Alma Forbes, born 3 October 1865 in Iowa. Named as Susie in father's Biographical Sketch in 1879
     - married to
     Ben R. Familton born about 1864, in Iowa
     - 1885 census in North Platte, Lincoln County, Nebraska
     - 1890, had a drug store in Gothenburg, Dawson County, Nebraska
     
   • Fitz Warren Forbes, born 30 Mar 1873. Named in father's Biographical Sketch, 1879.
     - 1880 census, in DeWitt, Clinton County, Iowa

2. Hezekiah Denison Usher,
   - born 18 December. 1834, Rockport, Ohio,
   - 1900 census, farmer, living alone, Saratoga Precinct, Carbon County, Wyoming
   - died 25 March 1915 in Wilbur, Washington
   - buried 27 March 1915 in Wilbur, Washington, Wilbur Cemetery
   - married 6 February 1872, in Farmers' Creek Twp., Jackson County, Iowa,to
   Almine M. Cameron, born about 1853 in Iowa
   - 1870 census, single, housekeeper in the Usher household
   CHILD
   • Usher, Pete, born about September 1874
     - died August 2, 1878, Aged 3yrs, 11 months, 20 days
     - buried at Tilton Cemetery on the Usher family farm

3. Mary Louisa Usher, born 1837 in Ohio, died 1852.

4. Leverett Washington Usher,
   - born 15 June 1839 near Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Obituary
   - enlisted 25 October 1861 as a private in the Civil War, received a disability discharge Company L, 2nd Cavalry Regiment Iowa on 25 September 1862
   - died 5 February 1924, Jackson County, Iowa
   - married 22 February 1872 at the Minland House in Maquoketa City, to
   Hulda Jane Tubbs, daughter of Nathaniel and Jane (Bates) Tubbs
   - born 17 October 1851 in New York
   - died 7 October 1945, in South Fork Twp., Jackson Co., Iowa
   Leverett and Hulda were buried Mt. Hope cemetery.
   Leverett served as a bugler in the Civil War in Company L, 2nd Iowa Cavalry, and was severely injured in the battle at Farmington, Kentucky. He and Hulda had one son, Ralph, whose descendants still live in the Jackson-Clinton County area of Iowa.
   • Ralph Usher, born 15 June 1874 in Maquoketa, Jackson, Iowa
     - farmed in Farmers Creek township, Jackson County, Iowa
     - died 15 December 1963 in Jackson County, Iowa
     - married 1) about 1896, Martha "Janie" Eastman, born Nov 1877 in Iowa
     - divorced. Ralph married 2) 17 November 1915, to
     Edna Reidinger, born 1892 in Iowa
     CHILDREN of Ralph and Janie Usher
     • Robert Vern Usher, born 7 October 1897 in Iowa
       - died 29 December 1978, buried in Jackson County, Iowa, Bridgeport Cemetery
       - married 23 October 1941, to Ida Sagers
       
     • Myrtle L. Usher, born about 1903 in Iowa
       - 1920 census, listed as step daughter in household of Charles and Janie M. Smith
       - married about 1925 to
       Charles Cook, born about 1905, Iowa
       - occupation 1930, foreman at an engineering company, Clinton, Iowa
       - lived in Rockford, Illinois, in 1978
       
       CHILDREN include:
       • Charlene Cook, born about 1926, Iowa
         
       • Robert W. Cook, born about 1928, Iowa
         
       • James R. Cook, born about 1929, Iowa
     CHILDREN of Ralph and Edna Usher
     • Nina Usher, born February 1917 in Iowa
       - married LaVerne Drumm, adopted son of A. J. Drumm
       - born about 1917, New York
       
     • Erma Usher, born October 1918 in Iowa
       
     • Hulda Usher, born 1920 in Iowa
       - married Judd Miller
       
     • Ralph Usher, Jr, born 6 November 1923 in Maquoketa, Jackson, Iowa
       - died 11 June 1949 in Jackson County, Iowa; died in car accident
       - had a gas station in Maquoketa; was a World War II veteran
       
     • Louis Usher, born 1926 in Iowa
       
     • Hazel Usher, born 1928 in Iowa
       - married Herman Schmaltz
       
     • Lincoln Usher, born 1930 in Iowa
       - married Bev ---
       
     • Betty Ann Usher, married Percy Dietz.

5. Cornelia Priscilla Usher,
   - born 2 June 1843, Maquoketa, Jackson County, Iowa,
   - died 22 January 1922, Harvard, McHenry County, Illinois
   - buried 25 Jan 1922 in Harvard, McHenry, Illinois, Mt Auburn Cemetery
   . Obituary
   - married 1 January 1866 at the house of elder H. Samson, Jackson County, Iowa, to
   Dr. Pliney Wilmot Blanchard, son of Orrin Willard and Nancy (Foster) Blanchard
   - born 04 March 1831 in New York, - farmer and physician in Walworth County, Wisconsin
   - died 17 Dec 1915 while living in Harvard, McHenry, Illinois
   - buried in Harvard, McHenry, Illinois, Mt Auburn Cemetery
   This is probably the P. W. Blanchard, 28, b NY, teacher of common school, in Blue Twp, (Independence P.O.) Jackson County, MO, with wife L. Jane, 22, b MO, and child Susan E, 3, b Wisc.
   CHILDREN of Pliney and Cornelia (Usher) Blanchard:
   • Nina Estella Blanchard, born Jan 1867 in Wisconsin
     - died 29 August 1951
     - buried in Harvard, McHenry, Illinois, Mt Auburn Cemetery
     - married 2 July 1889 in McHenry County, Illinois, to
     John Wesley Blodgett, born August 1859 in Illinois
     - occupation 1910, teacher in Lake Geneva, Walworth County, Wisconsin
     - died 24 May 1925, resided 1889 in Walworth, Walworth, Wisconsin
     CHILDREN
     • Blanche E. Blodgett, born June 1890 in Illinois
       - married W. C. Beyer, lived Philadelphia, 1915.
       
     • Pliney R. Blodgett, born March 1892 in Illinois
       - physician in Chicago
       
     • Donald J. Blodgett, born November 1894 in Illinois
       - 1915, resided in Harvard, Illinois
       
     • Margaret C. Blodgett, born 1899 or March 1896 in Wisconsin
       - died 11 March 1967
       - buried in Harvard, McHenry, Illinois, Mt Auburn Cemetery
       - married Mr. Agner.
     • O. Helen Blodgett, born July 1898 in Wisconsin
       - named in 1900 census, not included in 1910, so apparently died as a child
       
     • Mark Blodgett, born May 1900 in Wisconsin
       - died April 1973, residing in Janesville, Rock County, Wisconsin
       
     • Esther Elizabeth Blodgett, born 6 August 1902 in Illinois
       - Founder of WMCW Harvard Radio, 1955-1979
       - died 28 Sep 1987, buried in Harvard, McHenry, Illinois, Mt Auburn Cemetery
       
     • Orrin Elliott Blodgett, born 1903 in Illinois
       - died 12 January 1971 buried in Harvard, Illinois, Mt Auburn Cemetery
       - married 9 June 1937, to
       Loretta J. Connely, born in Schnectady, New York
       - died 22 August 1984 in Walworth, Walworth, Wisconsin
       - buried in Harvard, McHenry, Illinois, Mt. Auburn Cemetery
   • Edna Orene Blanchard, born 17 September 1874 in Wisconsin
     - occupation 1900 School teacher, McHenry County, Ill.
     - died 22 April 1904, buried in Harvard, Illinois, Mt. Auburn Cemetery

6. Lucy Marilda Usher,
   - born 5 April 1845, Maquoketa, Jackson County, Iowa
   - died 6 February 1917, Harvard, McHenry County, Illinois
   - married 1) 16 April 1866, DeWitt, Clinton County, Iowa
   Tinlis Houser, 1839-1912. Divorced.
   - married 2) 31 October 1894, Toledo, Tama County, Iowa
   George Beecher, 1849-1912.
   See Houser Ancestors for more details.

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