27 September 2010

Divorce Action in Williams County, Ohio - Doner, 1862


Mary Eve Gestall Doner/ Dauner v Francis Joseph T. Doner/Dauner
 (Journal 6 p199 - 27 Mar 1862; Roll 15 case number 110)

 

By Pamela Pattison Lash (updated 23 November 2021)

 

Samuel Slanker, JP, married the couple in Canton, Stark Co, OH, on 16 Nov 1857. (Marriage C p206).  Francis Joseph Doner, born  on 25 March 1819 in Betchdorf, Alsace-Lorraine, France, was the son of John T. and Sarah Doras Doner, both natives of France. Francis enlisted in the Army in 1840, served until 1848 with an honorable discharge, and immigrated to the US c1849.  He traveled to Uniontown, Stark Co, OH but later came first to Williams Center in 1850 and then in 1851 he moved to St Joseph Twp.  Francis was married to Thetcla Hilbert, bc 13 Jan 1826, on 31 Jan 1853, Williams Co, OH (Marriage V2 p131); Thetcla died on 14 Sept 1857.  They had two children, Joseph William and Ludwig. About two months later he married Mary Eva, born May 1841, FR/GERM, of French parentage, who set up residency in the US c1849-1852. The Doner family was listed in the 1860 St. Joseph Twp, Williams Co, OH federal census p119A, as Joseph 39 FR, Mary 21 FR, Joseph 6 OH, and John 1 OH.

 

Mary told the court that she had a 19-month-old son, Edward L, and on the following dates Joseph, her husband, had been extremely cruel: 15 Oct 1859, 15 Feb 1861, 1 Oct 1861, 26 Jan 1862, and 9 Feb 1862.  He had threatened to take the infant from her.  At the time of the filing she was pregnant with another child.  Joseph owned 82 acres of land, valued at $2,000, plus livestock.  Mary called George Arnold and Augustus Karle as her witnesses. She wanted a reasonable alimony.  The court dismissed the case.  This may be due to Mary's pregnant state, the fact that the parties were Catholic, or some unknown factor.

 

The couple had the following children: John A, Edward L, Flora T, Clara, Felix, Anna V, Christian, Alice A, and Adrian.  According to the 1870 St. Joseph Twp federal census, p22-23, the family was enumerated as Joseph 51 FR, Mary E 31 FR, William 16, Edward 10, Flora 8, Clara 6, Felix 4; in the 1880 St. Joseph Twp federal census, p24, they were listed as Joseph Dohner 61 FR, Mary 41 FR, Edward 20, Flora 18, Clara 16, Felix 14, Anna 9, Christian 6, Alice 3, and Adrian 2.  Joseph's obituary ran in The Edgerton Earth, 29 Sept 1911, p2 c2; he was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Edgerton.  In 1920 wife Mary lived on Hull St in Edgerton and later died in May 1927; she was buried beside her husband.  While Francis’ obit gave a lot of detail about his early life, Eva’s was just the basics as having died at the home of her son Felix according to the Bryan Democrat (Bryan, OH), 20 May 1927 p9 c4.

 




No comments: