By Randall S. Treadway

     Welcome to my Tumbleson Genealogy Page.  This is my wife Vickie's line.   I have worked on this line for many years now.  Most of the information herein came from Census Records, Information from the Des Moines Genealogical Society,  headstone information, and donated information.  I would like to thank John Rohde II for helping me with George's lines, along with so many others. I believe the information below is correct, but If you find any discrepancies, please email me.  Would love any help on the upper lines of this family as is sparse to say the least.  This site is dedicated to my wonderful wife Vickie, and my children.  Enjoy your stay.

     Please remember each bit of information found here, or elsewhere, must be researched and proven by weight of evidence, via you, the researcher.

*****************1st Generation*****************    

     Samuel Tumbleson was born ca 1775 in Greene Co., Pennsylvania.   Samuel married Sarah Edgington on 10 December 1800 in Adams Co., Ohio (Early Adams Co., Ohio marriages).  Sarah was ca 1776 in Pennsylvania, the daughter of George Edgington and Mary Naylor.  Samuel was listed in the 1803, 1807, 1811, 1815, and 1819 Tax Records for Sprigg Twp., Adams Co., Ohio.  Samuel died ca 1828 and Sarah died ca 1822 in Sprigg Twp., Adams Co., Ohio.  Their children were:  

1.  Elizabeth Tumbleson, born ca 1801 in Adams Co., Ohio.  She married Frantley R. Elrod on 22 June 1820 in Adams Co., Ohio (Early Adams Co., Ohio marriages). Frantley was born ca 1796 in Kentucky. They were listed in the 1860 Winchester Twp., Adams Co., Ohio Census records.

2.  Phebe Tumbleson,  born 20 December 1805 in Adams Co., Ohio. She married Thomas Brown on 24 January 1827 in Adams Co., Ohio (Early Adams Co., Ohio marriages). 

3.  Pernina "Ninny" Tumbleson,  born ca 1806 in Adams Co., Ohio.  She married Andrew Gutridge on 07 October 1830 in Adams Co., Ohio. Children: Jane, Sarah, Louisa, Mary Ann and Samuel Gutridge.

4.  George Warren Tumbleson, (See 2nd Generation), born ca 1807 in Adams Co., Ohio.

5.  Samuel Tumbleson, born ca 1808 in Adams Co., Ohio.  Samuel married Mary Ann Brown on 23 October 1829 in Adams Co., Ohio (Early Adams Co., Ohio marriages).

6.  Mary Tumbleson, born ca 1810 in Adams Co., Ohio. She married Stephen Brown on 30 January 1831 in Adams Co., Ohio. Stephen was born ca 1818 in Ohio. They were listed in the 1850 Sprigg Twp., Adams Co., Ohio Census records. Children: James, Jane, Reason, Mary, Lucinda, George and William Brown.

7.  Ury Tumbleson, born ca 1812 in Adams Co., Ohio.  She married William A. Holliday on 08 January 1833 in Adams Co., Ohio (Early Adams Co., Ohio marriages).

8.  Emily Tumbleson, born ca 1814 in Adams Co., Ohio. She married Andrew Rhodes ca 1834.

9.  Sarah Tumbleson, born ca 1816 in Adams Co., Ohio.

*****************2nd Generation*****************    

     George Warren Tumbleson born ca 1807 in Adams Co., Ohio married Susannah E. "Suckey" Tucker on  18 August 1825 in Adams Co., Ohio (Early Adams Co., Ohio marriages).  Suckey was born on 06 March 1806 in Adams Co., Ohio, the daughter of Osburn/Osborn Tucker and Elizabeth Ann "Betsy" Lanham.  George and his family migrated to Edgar Co., Illinois.  George died on 23 August 1840 in Edgar Co., Illinois.  Suckey came to Iowa and died on 23 August 1892.  She is buried in the Rippey Cemetery, Rippey, Greene Co., Iowa along with her son John Kelley Tumbleson.  (Again I would like to thank John Rohde II for his wonderful contributions to this family).  George and Suckey's children were:

1.  Leatha Tumbleson, born 25 April 1826 in Adams Co., Ohio.  She married Zenas Satterlee on 25 April 1847 in Lena, Stephenson Co., Illinois.  Zenas was born on 09 October 1827 in Edgar Co., Illinois, the son of Elisha Satterlee and Almira Curtis.  Leatha died on 20 April 1862, and Zenas died on 06 March 1890.  Leatha is buried in the Cross Road Cemetery, Stephenson Co., Illinois.  Their children were:  Matilda S., Eura Pearl, Susan Jane, Rosetta Ann, Jessie Anna, Alfred Miles, and Arthur Everett Satterlee.

2.  Elizabeth A. Tumbleson, (See 3rd Generation), born 03 September 1829 in Edgar Co., Illinois.   

3.  Silas Warren Tumbleson, born 23 April 1831 in Edgar Co., Illinois.  He married Rebecca Stamm on 03 May 1859.  Silas died on 30 September 1900 in Sinclair Twp., Jewell Co., Kansas.  Their children were:  Aura Amos, Alice, Matilda Elizabeth, Mary E., Cyrus Warren, George Adam, and Essie Jane Tumbleson.

4.  Nancy Jane Tumbleson, born 01 August 1835 in Edgar Co., Illinois.  She married George Reuben Cook on 14 August 1851.  Nancy died on 05 January 1889 in Illinois.  Their children were:  John Henry, George Reuben, Hattie S., Ida A., and Lora Frances Cook.

5.  Louisiana "Louisa Ann" Tumbleson, born ca 1837 in Edgar Co., Illinois.  She married Charles A. Eastwood on 16 May 1869 in Boone Co., Iowa.  Charles was born ca 1834 in Ohio.  They were listed in the 1870 Dodge Twp., Boone Co., Iowa Census.

6.  Infant Son, born ca 1839 in Edgar Co., Illiniois.

7.  John Kelley Tumbleson, born 07 March 1840 in Edgar Co., Illinois.  He married Mary Jane Gibbons on 20 February 1868.  Mary was born on 28 February 1836 in Ohio.  John and Mary are listed in the 1870 Des Moines Twp., Boone Co., Iowa Census with 3 Bronker children Elizabeth, Clara M., and Samuel G., and the 1880 Peoples Twp., Boone Co., Iowa Census, listed as I. K. Tumbleson with his mother Susan living with them.  John died on 17 February 1897 and Mary died on 17 December 1912.  They both are buried in the Rippey Cemetery, Rippey, Greene Co., Iowa.  Birth and Death dates are from their headstones.  Their children were:  Matilda "Tillie" and Nellie Tumbleson.

*****************3rd Generation*****************    

     Elizabeth A. Tumbleson born 03 September 1829 in Edgar Co., Illinois.  She married John Anderson James on 04 July 1843.  John was much older than Elizabeth.  He was born ca 1810 in Kentucky or Tennessee the son of William Franklin James. (Thank you for this information Kim W). Elizabeth and John migrated to Wisconsin where their oldest son George was born. They then went to Stephenson Co., Illinois where Elizabeth was listed with her children in the 1850 Wadam, Stephenson Co., Illinois Census records on pg. 311. They later migrated to Pocahontas Co., Iowa where they were listed in the 1860 Census, to Boone Co., Iowa where they were listed in the 1870 Census, and then to Marshall Co., Iowa, where they were listed in the 1880 Census.  

Below is wonderful information on John Anderson James, by John P. James (Thank you John)

John Anderson James; "His Life, and Times"

     John Anderson James, son of William Franklin James was born in Tennessee or Kentucky in the year 1810.  He died in 1890 and is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Omaha Nebraska.

     In the year of  1832, John Anderson was residing in a small town located in southwestern Illinois.   Waterloo Illinois is near the Mississippi river and is 20 miles southeast of St Louis, Mo.  In April of this year some rather serious Indian problems developed that let to the outbreak of the Black Hawk War.  Black Hawk, the chief of the Sauk Indians led some 400 warriors across the Mississippi to return to their lands along the Rock River in Illinois.  On the 16th of April the Governor of Illinois issued a proclamation which read in part: "Fellow citizens, your country requires your services.  The Indians have assumed a hostile attitude and have invaded the state in violation of the treaty of last summer.  The Sauk's and other hostile Indians headed by Chief Black hawk, are in possession of Rock River County... settlers are in imminent danger...I hope my countrymen will offer their services in the defense of  their country..."

     John Anderson James, age 22, enlisted for active service on the 19th of April 1832.  In these times, every male between the ages of 18 and 45 were required to be members of the Illinois Milita... only volunteers served in the conflict.  Nine days after his enlistment he was appointed Master Sergent... and the field and staff muster roll dated 28 May 1832 shows him present at the Fox River area some 300 miles north of  his point of enlistment.  The entire affair was over in five months.  Black Hawk won the first engagement of  the the six that were considered battles. The battle of  "Bad Axe" was the end of the road
for the Black Hawk and the war  was over by September of  1832.

     On the fourth of July 1843 at the age of  33,  John  Anderson married sixteen year old Elizabeth A. Tumbleson,  daughter of  George W. Tumbleson of  German descent who was born in the year 1802 in Adams county  Ohio.  Elizabeth’s mother, Susan E. Tucker was widowed in 1840 when George Tumbleson died. Elizabeth was only thirteen at the time of her fathers death and census records show her mother being as head of  the household in  southern Illinois at that time.

     The first child of  this union, George W. was born one year later in 1844.  A girl, Leathee Jane, was born in March of 1846 and died at the young age of seven.  Francis Marion, probably  named after the famous Revolutionary war hero, i.e. "The Swamp Fox", was born in 1848.  Emily Abandville, another daughter, was born in 1850.  All four of  these children, including our grandfather, who was born sever years later, were born in Illinois.

     The seven year gap in time between the birth of  Emily and Silas, is something of a mystery... there were to be four more children born to John A. and Elizabeth.  Our cousin, Ralston James of  Des Moines, Iowa tells the story told to him by his father Jessie Leroy that perhaps sheds some information on this period of time... and goes something like this:

     John Anderson James was a 49er, crossing the continent with an ox team.  He joined the vigilantes in California.  After the gold rush, he came back to Illinois by way of Cape Horn....

     Again, this story has been passed down thru generations.  How did wife Elizabeth and four young children manage in his 6 year absence.  We have no exact information as to how long John A. was in California.  Emily Abandville born March 1850 and  Silas John born May 1857 does represent a seven year period...and the gold fever was so prevalent along with the prospect of untold riches can be difficult for us today to understand. 

     The last child of John and Elizabeth born in Illinois was Silas John, born May 6, 1857.  In the year 1858 or 1859 the family relocated to Pocahontas County, Iowa, an area some 200 miles west of the Mississippi River and some sixty miles south of the Minnesota border.  The 1860 census of the Pocahontas County shows John A. James age 50, Elizabeth age 33, George age 15, Francis M. age 12, Emily M. age 9 and Silas J. age 3..  The census shows John A.’s occupation as "Farmer" with the value of his real estate as being $500 and personal property of $300.

     The John Anderson James family had settled on lots 7 & 8 on the east 1/4 of section 36, Des Moines Township, some 160 acres.  Eight years later he entered a homestead claim for an additional 172 acres and received a patent for the property June 1, 1866.  The present owner of this farmland, Mrs. Nola Stoebe says "The farmland your Great Grandfather acquired is a river farm on the west fork of the Des Moines river....about 40 acres of it now stands idle....when the river floods we can’t even run cattle on some parts....river farms in Iowa are not considered A1."

     John Anderson James apparently was involved in other activities besides farming.  He qualified for the office of  County Judge, only the second individual to hold the office... he held the office Jan 1860 thru May of 1861.  He served as Clerk of the township for three years... also serving as County Trustee, Assessor and Justice of the Peace.  He ran for Sheriff but lost by four votes and served as president of the newly formed school board.  All this information was obtained from "the Pioneer History of Pocahontas County, Iowa" , a 900 page volume written by Robert Elliott Flickinger published in 1904 and available from the Sioux City public library.

     What was it like living in western Iowa back in the late 1850s and 60s? Well, the hardy Pioneers that settled in the area not only had to endure the privations and hardships of dwelling in humble cabins and trying to live off the land but Indian troubles were commonplace.  The well known, books have been written about it, Spirit Lake Massacre by a band of Sioux took place just some 50 miles west of the John A. homestead one year prior to their arrival.  In the Spring of 1861, marauding bands of  Indians from southwestern Minnesota began to cross over into Iowa and commit depredations upon the settlers along the Sioux and Floyd rivers some 40 miles northwest of the James homestead.  Horses were stolen, cattle and other stock killed and settlers murdered.

     On August 18, 1862 Sioux Indians under Little Crow attacked the settlement of  New Ulm, Minnesota, about 40 miles north of the Iowa border.  There were may deaths and vast amounts of settlers property was destroyed.  This outbreak depopulated a large portion of southern Minnesota and spread consternation throughout northern Iowa.

     It was to be almost another two decades before George Custer and his 7th Cavalry were to meet their fate at Little Big Horn, 1876 in southeastern Montana.  Geronimo the famous Apache Chief was not to be captured until the year 1886.  The last major fight between Indians and White men took place at the battle of Wounded Knee in the year 1890 in South Dakota.  Needless to say, these were difficult times.

     All of the remaining children of  John and Elizabeth were born in the state of  Iowa.  Zenas A Feb. 7, 1861, Kelley E. May 10, 1864, Reubin C., Feb. 18, 1866.  One last child, a Charles Edward apparently died at birth, March 29, 1871... Elizabeth would have been 44 years of age, and John A., 61.  The 1870 Census Boone County, Dodge Township shows John A. age 60, Elizabeth age 42, Francis M. age 22, Silas J. age 13,  Zenas A. age 10, Kelley E. age 6 and Reubin C. age 4.  The oldest son George W. would have been 26 and probably had left home.  Emily Abandville at age seventeen had married a John Cox July 28, 1867.

     Boone County is some fifty miles south of Pocahontas County.  At the very longest, the John Anderson family would have lived in Pocahontas County  perhaps twelve years... assuming they had just arrived at the time of the 1870 census.   John A. James died 20 years later in 1890 in Omaha Nebraska.  We have no information regarding the passing of Elizabeth.  Her mother, Susan Tucker Tumbleson, is buried in Rippey, a few miles northwest of Des Moines Iowa.  The last twenty years of this interesting family are something of a mystery... later generations... our parents and grandparents are a bit more familiar... we only wish that somehow someway it might be possible to go back in time to learn more about our wonderful ancestors, their hardships and accomplishments.

     Elizabeth died in December of 1895 and is buried in the Center School Cemetery, Marshall Co., Iowa.  John migrated to Omaha, Nebraska where he died and is buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery, Omaha, Douglas Co., Nebraska.  Their children were:

1.  George W. James, born 21 July 1844 in Wisconsin.  He married Mary Stanley on 26 February 1869 in Boone Co., Iowa (Boone Co., Iowa marriage records).  Mary was born ca 1837 in Illinois.  Their family was listed in the 1880 Volton, Sauk Co., Wisconsin Census.  Their children were:  Elizabeth, John J., Francis M., and Edna James.

2.  Leathee Jane James, born 01 March 1846 in Illinois.  She died on 01 January 1854.

3.  Francis Marion "Frank" James, born 02 January 1848 in West Point, Stephenson Co., Illinois.  Frank married Louisa Adeline McGill on 23 March 1881 in Marshall Co., Iowa (Marshall Co., Iowa marriage records).  Frank died on 11 June 1921 in and is buried in the Timbercreek Cemetery, Timbercreek Twp., Marshall Co., Iowa.

4.  Emily M. or Abandville "Emma" James, (See 4th Generation), born 25 March 1850 in West Point Twp., Stephenson Co., Illinois.

5.  Silas John James, born 06 May 1857 in West Point Twp., Stephenson Co., Illinois.  He married twice.  He married first to Emilie Froebel on 06 May 1879 in Boone Co., Iowa.  Children from LDS files:  Ernest, Jesse, Harry, Nellie, Arthur, Ruth, Alma, Elsie Emma, Fern Geneva (Thank you Marilyn Hall), and Paul James.  Silas married second to Mrs. Dora Euckner Gunther on 24 July 1909 in Lincoln, Lancaster Co., Nebraska. Children: Sterling James. Silas died on 16 August 1920, and is buried in the Wyuka Cemetery, Nebraska City, Otoe Co., Nebraska.  

6.  Zenas A. James, born 07 February 1861 in Boone Co., Iowa.  He married Lenora A. Parker on 05 March 1884 in Marshalltown, Marshall Co., Iowa (Marshall Co., Iowa marriage records).  Lenora "Nora" was born in December 1862 in Iowa, the daughter of George W. and Mary Parker. Their family was listed in the 1900 Platte Twp., 1910 Ripley Twp., and 1920 Swanville Twp Census records, all in Morrison Co., Wisconsin. Zenas died on 13 March 1926 in Hillman, Morrison Co., Minnesota.  Their children were: Della, Ina, Bertha, Helen, Erma, Gertrude, Elmer V., and Alvin L. James.

7.  Kelly Ellsworth James, born 10 May 1864 in Boone Co., Iowa.  He married Amelia Ralls on 24 May 1884 in Marshalltown, Marshall Co., Iowa (Marshall Co., Iowa marriage records).  

8.  Reuben Cook James, born 18 February 1866 in Boone Co., Iowa.  He married Hattie Mae Davidson on 02 December 1896 in Jewell Co., Kansas. Hattie was born in 1872 in Illinois. Reuben died on 30 October 1922 in Ponca, Dixon Co., Nebraska. Their family was listed in the 1920 Laurel, Cedar Co., Nebraska Census records. Their children were: Lida, Leta, Della, Ida, and Leola James.  

10.  Charles Edward James, born 29 March 1871 in Boone Co., Iowa.  He also died in 1871.

*****************4th Generation*****************   

     Emily M. or Abandville "Emma" James born 25 March 1850 in West Point Twp., Stephenson Co., Illinois.  She married John Cox on 28 July 1867 in Boone Co., Iowa.  John was born on 25 June 1845 in Indiana, the son of Thomas Cox and Rachel Jay.  John and Emma were listed with their family is the 1870 Dodge Twp., Boone Co., Iowa Census, and the 1880 Timber Creek, Marshall Co., Iowa Census.  Emma is buried in the Center School Cemetery, Marshall Co., Iowa.  

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