The Mystery of Mariam

Mariam Williams.

Her name was recorded over 175 years ago by a clerk in Green County, Wisconsin, when she married Robert Kirkendoll on August 26, 1838.¹  And that record is one of the few pieces of tangible evidence of her life. She lives on through her many descendants but the details of her life remain shrouded in mystery. What is known -- beyond her marriage to Robert -- is that in 1840 Robert is enumerated in the Wisconsin Territorial Census as the head of a household which included one white male, age 20-30, and one white female, age 15-19, most likely Mariam.²

1850 Federal Census, Wiota, Lafayette County, WI.

Robert Kirkendoll was born in Yellow Bud, Ross County, Ohio, on 12 March 1814. His parents are unknown and he seems to have struck out on his own at an early age. He is enumerated in Iowa County, Michigan Territory, in 1830, now part of Wisconsin, and later served during the Black Hawk Wars in Illinois during 1832 and 1833.

Mariam and Robert's first child -- my great-great-great grandmother -- Eliza Ann Kirkendoll was born on 25 October 1841. A second daughter, Mary Lucas Kirkendoll, was born 5 October 1843.
        

1850 Federal Census, Wayne, Lafayette County, WI.

Wisconsin records indicate Robert married Sarah (Million) Hoffman in 1848.³ In the 1850 census Mariam is enumerated with the family of John Chilton. John's wife, Elisabeth and Mariam (Miriam as she is recorded) are close in age and both are listed as having been born in Delaware. It's possible they were sisters, but no records have been located to corroborate this theory. One of the children in the household -- likely John's and Elisabeth's daughter -- is also named Miriam/Mariam, which also suggests a family connection.

In 1850, Robert and Sarah are living with Eliza and Mary; Sarah's sons from her first marriage; and their first child together. It is curious that Eliza and Mary are living with their father. Presumably Mariam and Robert divorced sometime between 1843 and 1848, but what is also surprising is it appears Mariam has a young daughter, Caroline, born about 1848, previously unknown.^4,5 

Excerpt from Robert Kirkendoll's obituary.
Unknown newspaper.

And then Mariam and Caroline disappear. The 1860 census for southwest Wisconsin seems to have been particularly incomplete. None of the extended Kirkendoll family can be found in the census, but Robert, Sarah and their growing family can be found in subsequent census. But not Mariam. Did she remarry? If so, where? Searches of Wisconsin marriage records have been unsuccessful. Did she die? If so where and when?

Until recently the only other evidence I had substantiating Mariam's life was a brief mention in Robert's obituary naming her as the mother of his two oldest daughters. Then last month I had the opportunity to visit southwest Wisconsin and at the top of my research agenda was to try and locate Mariam and Robert's divorce. I started with Green County, where Mariam and Robert were married and learned the case files had been transferred to the Southwest Wisconsin Room at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. So off to Platteville I went and that's when things finally got interesting...
                                                       

1. Wisconsin Historical Society. Pre-1907 Vital Records Collection. Madison, WI, USA: Wisconsin Historical Society Library Archives. Robert Kirkendoll and Mariam Williams, 26 August 1838, Green County, Wisconsin Territory, vol. 1, page 1.
2. Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. Green County, Wisconsin Territory; NARA  M704-580; Page: 137, Line: 16; Robert Kirkendoll.
3. Wisconsin Historical Society. Pre-1907 Vital Records Collection. Madison, WI, USA: Wisconsin Historical Society Library Archives. Robert Kirkendoll and Sarah Hoffman, 11 August 1848, Lafayette County, Wisconsin, vol. 1, page 23.
4. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Wiota, Lafayette, Wisconsin, NARA M432-1001; Page: 355A. John Chilton.
5. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Wayne, Lafayette, Wisconsin, NARA M432-1001; Page: 332A. Robert Kirkendoll.