Albert Cheney 1852 – 1936
Born: Rock Island, Illinois, 26 September 1852; died 10 September 1936.
Son of Luke Cheney and Mary Polly Beardsley Cheney
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As a boy I recall my father speaking of his grandfather…”Grampy,” I think he called him. His grandmother, Eva, had died fairly young, but Grampy was an important part of Dad’s life. Grampy died several years before my birth so I have no personal knowledge of him, but I always sensed Grampy was very special to my Dad. Prior to beginning work on genealogy I knew virtually nothing about him. Now that I know more about them, I’ve come to understand both Eva and Albert must have been very plain, simple people — but truly remarkable!
Just a couple of weeks ago Lynn and I were enjoying a great road trip. We made a stop at Sauder Village, one of those “living history” museums located in Archbold, Ohio. In my opinion it was one of the better ones I’ve visited (Lynn and I both recommend it to all of you if you find yourself in northwest Ohio). When we visit those spots we especially enjoy the working craftspeople. At Sauder Village the craftswoman who most captured my attention was the broom-maker. As I watched her work I suddenly recalled tidbits of information I’ve seen about my great grandfather Albert Cheney – “Grampy” — identifying him as a broom-maker in turn of the century Oklahoma. I’d like to share some of his story with you today.
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I love all my ancestors. But I must acknowledge a special fondness for the Cheney line, for no reason other than the fact that is the line through which I have proven all my Mayflower passenger ancestors. I think that’s really cool!
Luke Cheney was born in Vermont in 1811. As a young man he moved to western New York where he met and married (in 1838) Polly Beardsley. In 1839 they were farming in Pennsylvania. By 1843 Luke and Polly were living in Rock Island, Illinois, where they owned land, had several children, and Luke was a cooper and shop-keeper. Much of the Beardsley family (who also had deep roots in New England) also migrated to Rock Island.
Luke and Polly’s first child, Caroline, was born in about 1840. Several others followed and Albert appears to be the last born, in 1852. Sadly, Mary Polly died less than three years later.
The next few years are a bit fuzzy, but by 1860 Luke was living in Camanche, Clinton County, Iowa – just across the Mississippi River from Rock Island. He had remarried a lady named Elizabeth Nottingham…a widow with two teenage daughters of her own. Including Albert, still a child, there were five people in the household in the 1860 census. We know Luke and Elizabeth added one child of their own, Loring, born about 1861.
But Luke died in 1868, in Camanche, leaving Elizabeth with Albert, then about 16, and Loring. Two years later we find Elizabeth and Loring living in Albany, Whiteside County, Illinois (in the 1870 census). But Albert isn’t far away…he is living and working on a neighbor’s farm in Albany (he appears on the census page just before Elizabeth and Loring!). In the 1870 census, Elizabeth is living in the home of Russell and Ann Hunt. I am almost certain that Elizabeth is closely related to the Hunt family — I think a sister of Russell Hunt — though I’ve not yet found definite proof of that connection. But especially significant is that the Hunts have a 13 year old daughter, Eva Lucretia Hunt. In less than six years Albert Cheney and Eva Hunt will be married and starting their own family!
Eva Hunt and Albert Cheney married February 22, 1876. They had only 30 years together before Eva died in 1906, only 48 years old. But what a remarkable run they had…quite literally, some parts of it were ‘a run’! From everything I’ve learned about them they seem to epitomize the brave and adventuresome pioneering spirit so important to that period of American history, and they packed much into the 30 years they had together…adventures and tragedies:
- by 1880, four years after they married, they made their way to Nebraska where they farmed for several years, but on the way it appears they settled for at least a while in northeast Missouri, where they left so deep an impression that, upon returning nine years later, they were warmly welcomed back
- in 1889 the family, now including three daughters (Maud, Mabel and Myrtle), traveled by wagon from Nebraska to Oklahoma Territory to take part in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 on April 22, 1889. This became an important part of family lore, with stories of the event passed along by the daughters…one account written by Albert and Eva’s granddaughter, Carrie Pryor, has been located. All of them came to be recognized and honored as “Eighty-Niners”…Eighty-Niners hold a special place in Oklahoma history
- Later in 1889 they returned to northeast Missouri where they remained for several years, and I’ve found many newspaper articles references the family
- In 1900 they were once again in Oklahoma, where they settled in Chandler, Oklahoma; in the 1900 census we find Albert, Eva, Maud, Myrtle, Carrie, Ica and Russell. By this time Mabel (my grandmother) had married and was living with her new husband, William Harvey Inlow, in Oklahoma City
- Until very recently all of us descending from Albert and Eva believed the children named above, (Maud, Mabel, Myrtle, Carrie, Russell and Ica) included all of Albert and Eva’s children. However I recently located a heart-rending newspaper account from the Marion County (Missouri) Herald, July 12, 1894, reporting the death of two children of Albert and Eva Cheney I had never before heard of: Carroll, four and one-half years old, who died on June 30, and Alberta, eight years old, who died only 24 hours later on July 1. According to the newspaper account both children died of diphtheria, and several other Cheney children were also seriously suffering from the disease at the same time. What a terrible time this must have been for Albert, Eva and all the family. This also means the actual birth order of the Cheney children should be something like this:
Maude (1876)
Mabel (1878)
Myrtle (1880)
Alberta (about 1886)
Carrie (1889)
Carroll (about 1890)
Russell (1894)
Ica (1897)
THE CHANDLER BROOM FACTORY
As mentioned above, by 1900 the family was living in Chandler, Oklahoma…all except Mabel who was with her new husband in Oklahoma City. Eva died not long after they returned to Oklahoma, in 1906. Albert lived until 1936, remaining in Oklahoma for the rest of his life.
Once in Oklahoma Albert had a variety of business pursuits through the years (farmer, confectioner, taco vendor, insurance salesman, janitor, to name a few!), but the career leading to this quick review of his life – and the one he seemed especially adept and experienced with for well over thirty years of his life (also the only one of his businesses mentioned in his obituary!) — was that of broom-maker. In 1901, just a year or so following his arrival in Oklahoma, he was recognized for establishing the Chandler (Oklahoma) Broom Factory.
Albert and Eva were true pioneers and settlers. We should be proud of them, and grateful for the legacy they passed along to us.
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Now that you know one of our ancestors was actually an expert broom-maker…that he started his own broom factory!…are you interested in knowing more about the subject? If so, here are some links to check out.
YouTube has several videos on the subject. I’ve only linked to one, but there are several others.
Amish Broom-maker. This is probably very similar to the way Albert did it.
Here’s a modern broom-makers website who makes brooms using the old methods and tools. It includes several items of interest, including some historical information
Here’s a video of the Sauder Village broom-maker. This one includes a view of what broom corn looks like while growing. where my interest was first pricked
