1910 Census, Howell County, Missouri

Minerva Adeline Jane (Adeline) Bray was the daughter of my third great grandfather Edward Payne Bray. Adeline's mother was probably Edward's second wife Martha Patsy Sweet. I am descended from Edward's first wife Anna F. Messamore. So Adeline was probably the half-brother of my second great grandfather Joseph A. (Joe) Bray.

However, there is a certain amount of uncertainty concerning Adeline's mother. I have generally listed Anna F. Messamore's date of death as about 1855, although a year or two earlier seems more likely. Edward Payne Bray married Martha Patsy Sweet on 12 Mar 1855. If Adeline's date of birth in this census entry is correct, then she was born almost exactly nine months after the marriage of Edward Payne Bray and Martha Patsy Sweet.

Additional confusion arises because Adeline was not listed in the 1860 census. Rather, in 1860 there was a daughter Jane age 5 for whom there are no other records. The 1870 census lists Minerva A. age 16 and the 1880 census lists Adeline age 24. So if the age of 16 in 1870 was correct, then Adeline was probably born about Jan 1854 and was the daughter of Anna F. Messamore. In this case, Anna must have died either giving birth to Adeline or else she died sometime during the next year, and then Edward Payne Bray married his second wife in March of 1855. If the age of 24 in 1880 was correct, then Adeline was the daughter of Martha Patsy Sweet.

I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the Jane Bray who was 5 years old in 1860 was the same person as the Minerva Adeline Bray who was 16 years old in 1870 and 24 years old in 1880. It's the only thing that makes any sense. Also, it reminds me of my great grandmother Mary Mahala Jane Bray. I have never found a single record for my great grandmother that lists all her names. But I have found all of her names in at least one record, plus my mother assures me that my great grandmother really did have all those names. So if my great grandmother had all those names, why not Adeline?

If Adeline was the same person as Jane Bray who was age 5 in 1860, then it has some interesting implications. The most accurate age for a person may usually be found in the earliest record. So if Adeline was 5 years old at the time of the 1860 census, then she was probably born in Jan 1855. That would suggest that Anna F. Messamore died in Jan 1855 giving birth to Adeline, and Edward Payne Bray remarried only three months later. I don't know if that's the most likely scenario, or if we should believe the 1900 census saying that Adeline was born in Jan 1856.

There is some degree of mystery associated with the daughter Lizzie. In the 1900 census she was listed as Elliz. M. Aultman.

Adeline was married twice. Her first husband was Milton T. Altum, which easily could be a variant spelling of Aultman (or vice versa). The problem is that Adeline was divorced from Milton Altum in 1878 and she did not marry Robert F. Teasley until 1884. So who was Lizzie Aultman's father given that she was born in 1880?. We also note that Adeline's maiden name was restored by her divorce decree, so if she had a child out of wedlock then the child was more likely to have been named Bray than Altum.