Josephine Rebecca (Hoffman) Wilson (1844 - 1935)

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Biography

Josephine Rebecca was born in 1844. She passed away in 1935.

Sources

• From Lay personal files

"Sketches and Incidents pertaining to the Life of Josephine Rebecca Hoffman Wilson (1844-1935) as related to and prepared by her daughter-in-law Dessie Myrtle Brown Wilson (1891-1971)" 51 handwritten pages (1st 22 pages typed below - the rest about her children). Francis S. Hoffman , Josephine's father, was born in 1794. Fought in the War of 1812. Later married Rebecca Filson and bought his father's (Thomas Hoffman's) farm and large stone house in Coatesville PA, Chester Co, built in 1802. Francis and Rebecca had seven children, four girls and three boys. Sons: Thomas, Joseph, Frank; Daughters: Hopey, Hannah, Letitia, Josephine Rebecca (she does not mention 2 other children: Mary Anna & Buchanan. She also mentions a son Frank, probably Francis. Her father's name and birth date are different from what I believe they to be). Thomas and Joseph served in the Civil War. Joseph joined the northern army; Thomas the southern army. Francis, their father, favored the south. Francis, my father, gave the government $50 to keep his son Frank at home. To help him on the farm. A neighbor's son, Billy Martin, took Frank's place. The war over, the boys returned home. Later Frank died from a running sore; a horse had kicked him in his side, while working on the farm. Lettie married Mathew Amuir. They had 7 children: Mary, Lillian, Barton, Hannah, Gertie, Conway, Guy. Sister Mary married a Mr Robinson. Sister Hopey married a Mr Fulton. They had 2 children: Rebecca, William. Joseph married Alice Elliott. They had four children: Emma, Harry, Vallie S., Flora. Hannah and Thomas did not marry. Josephine Rebecca married Charley Wilson in 1869. Charley was a widower; had a small daughter Linnie. Josephine and Charley had 7 children. I am Josephine Rebecca, born 9 Aug 1844, Coatesville, PA. I live in my father's farm with my father, mother, brothers & sisters. It is a large farm and beautiful home made of stone. The window sills are 18" deep. A large fireplace in each room with marble mantels. Four large rooms and kitchen downstairs, center hall, and wide stairs going to the second floor. In the bedrooms across the front of the house, there are 6 windows. My sisters and I enjoy looking out the large windows at the barns, waving grain, sheep, cows, garden, flowers, etc. I sleep in a trundle bed, a low bed when not in use is pushed under the large bed. When I was 2 years old, I helped my father plant two pine trees in the front yard north of the house. I enjoy picking wildflowers, going to the spring house for milk, cream and butter, and pulling hops from the garden fence for mother to make yeast for bread. Our home stands in the middle of a large field. Mother has a garden in which she raised vegetables for the table and a larger garden, called the truck patch. These vegetables are buried for winter use. A large hole is dug in the ground, then lined with straw. The vegetables are then buried, covered with more straw and ground. When I was 5 years old, the third track of PRR was laid from Harrisburg to Phila. The farmers boarded the men as they worked there, their farms. Mother would fry, boil, or scramble one large wash tub of eggs for breakfast, including ham, pork chops, buckwheat cakes, coffee, honey, etc. After a day's work, some of the men would spend the evening in our kitchen and tell stories. When I was 9 years old, my mother taught me how to knit. From then on I was responsible for making the sox and stockings for the family. The sheep were sheared, the wool carded, the mother spun it into yarn on the spinning wheel. It was then rolled into balls. This was used for knitting. When I was 10 years old, I asked my father if I may raise some geese. He said no as they eat too much grain. But I was determined, so I bought 2 goose eggs from my uncle Frank. They cost 3 cents. Uncle Frank lived down the lane a ways. My father was not very happy about me buying the eggs, but mother asked him if I may keep them. He said I may let them hatch and then we would eat the geese. They turned out to be a goose and a gander. Father said yes you may keep these, but no more. But many more followed. Mother made me a bag from ticking in which I dried the down. We hung it in the attic. I had 3 feather beds, 3 bolsters and 6 pillows, before I stopped raising geese. But the geese did eat a lot of grain from father's fields. Sister Mary and I would walk down the lane to visit Mrs Martin and family. We would wash her dishes, bathe the little ones, and clean the house, for Mrs Martin did not like house work. Then Mrs Martin would give us each enough calico to make a new dress. It cost her 2 cents a yard. Mother tells us this story. When our grandmother was a little girl in 1776, the Red Coats came to their home and asked for something to eat. They waited until the bread was baked, then took it with them. The bread was baked in an outdoor oven; pies and cakes baked the same way. A fire would be made in the oven with wood for an hour, then the red hot ashes would be pulled out, the bread was then put in the oven to bake. I like to play with my saw dust doll with China head, hands, and feet. When fall weather came around, father would hitch the horses to the wagon and drive to Phila to buy shad fish. He would bring home large kegs of fish. Mother would clean and salt them down for winter use. It took father 2 days to make the trip. Wash day at our home is an all day chore. The bench and wooden tubs are put in place, fire kindled under the large black? Iron and copper kettles to heat the water. The water is drawn from the well by lowering a bucket on a rope into the well. Mother makes her own soap with lye, and starch is made by boiling flour and water together. The clothes are washed by rubbing them up and down over a wash board, are then boiled, rinsed, starched, and hung on a line to dry. Our stove was large and burned wood only. We heated our goose irons on this stove to iron our clothes. Sister Hannah and I each have a white dress that takes 3 hours to iron each dress. Mother made these dresses. They are very pretty; rows and rows of tucks and laces, I would shoo the flies away while sister Hannah ironed her dress. Then sister Hannah would shoo the flies while I ironed my dress. The irons were very heavy and hard to handle. We made our candles by cutting cloth in pieces the sizes? we wanted, then dip the pieces of cloth into the tallow, lay them down to dry, then dip again until they were round and the thickness we wanted. We did our school work by candle light, By tacking paper over 1/3 of a 45" round stick, then cutting the paper into long strips like ribbon (this is the way it is written). The fly brushes we used for shooing the flies from the table while we ate were made by tacking cloth or paper on a long stick, then cutting the cloth or paper into narrow strips like ribbon. These would frighten the flies away just by moving the stick. Mother would dye cloth by boiling poke? Berries, then straining them and boiling the cloth in the liquid; then use resin? for setting the dye. I took up sewing when I was 17; learned the tailoring trade. The tailor set on a table with his legs crossed while he sewed. When 20, I was considered a good tailoress. I worked for a tailor in Coatesville, PA - made trousers. On my way to work each morning, I would greet a young man, Charley Wilson, on his way to work. Charley made tombstones. Father is very ill, had a stroke; keeps us a busy helping mother take care of him. Father has passed away. The snow is very deep, and the drifts are so large and high they could not find the roads. Father was carried in his black coffin across the yard, put on a sled, and taken to the cemetery on the farm. Now brother Frank and father are both laid to rest. The cemetery is not very large; has a white fence around it. Charley Wilson and I were married in the year 1869. We decided to go west and take up a homestead in Kansas in 1876. We went by covered wagon with our 3 children: Charley, Susan, & Mary. Built a sod house, made beds from 2 x 4 lumber on the ground, filled them with dried weeds. A door and a hole in the sod for a window. Nearest town, Larned, was 50 miles away. One day while gathering chips, Charley spotted what he thought was a kitty, but it was a skunk and sprayed him. His clothes were buried in the ground for 3 days to get rid of the odor. Lots of wild life including snakes. One night we heard the rattles of a snake in our hut. It was eating a field mouse; the only reason it could not harm the children. On food was mostly corn meal. We would plant our garden, the vegetable would grow so high, then a hot wind over night would burn them to the ground. Plant again, the same thing would happen. I was very homesick and almost time for my fourth child to be born. Charley decided it was time to give up, and we needed money. One day we left Kansas in a covered wagon for the state of PA, Before we were very far on our way, I became ill and stopped off in St Joseph MO to give birth to our baby girl Josephine in 1880. While in KS, we did not have equipment to dig a well, so the water was hauled from a neighbors, many miles away. On our way to St Joe MO, we had many electric storms; the weather being so hot. The lightning would play around the wheels of the wagon. We were terribly frightened. The children and I would cover ourselves with the grass mattress and blankets. After the rain, we would hang these on the rails of the wagon to dry. Mr. Brown drove the horses from KS to St Joe MO. The storms would bother him too, so he would swear at the horses to make them hurry along. We lived in MO for a year until Charley made enough money to go to Altoona PA. There we had streetcars pulled by horses, 5 cents a ride. Two steps up into the streetcar from the back of the car. I purchased a sewing machine and made new clothing for the children and myself. The girls wore pinafores, the babies wore long dresses at least one and a half yards long with a white slip and a woolen slip and long wool stockings. Charley had suits of long pleated shirts and white blouses with ruffles down the front. When 6 years old wore short pants and blouses. I wore skirt waists with lego-mutton sleeves and long skirts with rushing on the bottom; they were called street sweepers. The men wore tight legged trousers. Our 5th child was a boy, Rosco Conklin born in Altoona PA in 1882. We moved to Mt Pleasant; lived on Washington St. Charley suffered a stroke and died in May 1885, 3 months before our baby was born. Roy Beacon was born 13 Aug 1885. I was left with 7 children to raise: Linnie, Charley, Susan, Mary, Rosco, Roy, Josephine. I was thankful I knew how to sew. A made pants, dresses, and quilts. It was a long hard struggle for my oldest child was just 15 years old when his father died.

Josephine stated that she lived with her son Roy Wilson for 20 years. ____________________________________

1900 Census, Ward 1, Washington St, Mt Pleasant, Westmoreland Co PA (All b PA): HOH Josephine Wilson Aug 1844- Children: Rosco C. Apr 1883-, Roy B. Aug 1885-

1910 Census, Mt Pleasant, Westmoreland Co PA (All b PA): HOH Josephine H. Wilson 1845- Son Roy B. 1886-

1920 Census, 215 Lehigh St, Edgewood Boro, Allegheny Co PA (All b PA incl parents): HOH Roy B. Wilson 1886-, office clerk, owns mortgaged house Wife Dessie 1892- Child: Donald 1914- Mother: Josephine 1844-, Widow

1930 Census, 1643 Gordon St, Edgewood Boro, Allegheny Co PA (All b PA incl parents): HOH Roy B. Wilson 1886- Clerical in Electric Mfg, Owns house $11,000 value, 1st marriage at age 27 (1912) Wife Bessie 1892-, 1st marriage at age 21 (1912) Children: Donald 1914-, Ruth 1915- Mother: Josephine 1844- Widow, 1st marriage at age 20 (1864)

PA Death Certificate (File #13953): Widow of Roy Wilson, Mrs Josephine Wilson, 116 Gordon St, Edgewood, Allegheny Co PA, died (90-6-2) 11 Feb 1935 of broncho pneumonia in rt & lt lungs for 12 mos. Contributing to her death was arterio sclerosis for 10 yrs.

She died at the Shadyside Homeopathic Hosp, Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co PA