The Oshel Family

Our first known Oshel ancestor is John Oshal who was born between 1780-1790 in Pennsylvania. He was first married on 29 July 1813 in Greene County, Ohio, to Mary Marshall. John and his first wife, Mary had at least three daughters including a daughter named Rachel born about 1814 and married on 26 Feb 1835 to Adam Shegley. After the death of John’s first wife, he then married Margaret (Chambers) Sterrett the widow of John Sterrett, in Greene County on 7 August 1822. Margaret was born about 1798 or 1799 in Ireland. John and Margaret had 5 children.

John and Margaret lived in Greene County, Ohio, until between 1828 and 1830, when they moved to Tippecanoe County, Indiana. John died between 1850-1860 in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. In 1860 Margaret was still alive and living in the city of Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, with her daughter Margaret and Margaret’s husband. The youngest of John and Margaret’s children, Jesse Oshel, is our next ancestor.

Jesse was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, on 25 July 1832. He lived there for many years. On 15 Feb 1858, Jesse married Sarah Elizabeth Smith in Tippecanoe County. Sarah was born in Ohio on 29 August 1842, the daughter of Joseph Smith. The name of Sarah’s mother is uncertain but apparently either Inda Ann Tatum or Inian Tapman. Jesse and Sarah had 15 children, 11 of them living to maturity.

Jesse served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He volunteered on 19 Dec 1863 and was mustered in at Indianapolis, Indiana. His enlistment papers describe him as about 6 feet tall with grey eyes, dark hair and dark complexion. He served as a private in Company G, 72^nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, and later in Company I, 44^th Regiment, Indiana Infantry. In May 1864, Jesse was injured near Resaca, Georgia, when his horse fell on him during a charge. He was hospitalized for several months in Columbia, Tennessee, with back and chest injuries and later received a pension for those injuries. He was discharged 14 September 1865 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jesse and Sarah continued to make their home in Tippecanoe County until the fall of 1874 when they moved by covered wagon to Woodson County, Kansas, settling near Neosho Falls. They also lived for a time near Garnett, Kansas in Anderson County and near Blue Mound, Kansas in Linn County.

Sarah died 17 Dec 1913 in LaHarpe, Kansas of Tuberculosis. After the death of his beloved Sarah, Jesse then made his home with his son Albert J and family. Jesse died 22 June 1915 in Chanute, Kansas. Both Sarah and Jesse are buried at Welda, Kansas.

Jesse was a farmer in both Indiana and Kansas. In 1885, Jesse had a farm in Woodson County, Kansas. His farm consisted of 160 acres of land. His farm was worth $2500, his personal assets were worth $30. At the time he grew 15 acres of rye, 60 acres of corn, 18 acres of oats, and ½ acre of Irish potatoes. At the time wheat was 70 cents per bushel, corn was 28 cents per bushel, fat cattle 4 ½ cents per pound, stock cattle was 3 ½ cents per pound, milch cattle $30 per head, fat hogs were 4 cents per pound, and stock hogs were also 4 cents per pound.

Jesse and Sarah could both read and write. Jesse really loved to whittle. Ruby Oshel Brannon tells as when she was a child Jesse whittled her a toy wooden ax, which she still has and she is now 91 years old in 1992.

Webmasters note: I have found the original author of this essay (or should I say she found us). The following excerpt from her email (with her permission) brings to light the origins of this paper.

This article is one that I wrote for a reunion of the descendants of John William Hecox and
Jennie Eveline Oshel in the summer of 1981. We later put together a book for
those who attended the reunion, and this write up was included in the book.
Someone has taken that article and added some additional information.
The fact that Sarah died of tuberculoisis has been added. Also the sentence,
"After the death of his beloved Sarah, Jesse then made his home with his
son Albert J. and family." The last two paragraphs are also additions.
I would assume that the information is from the 1875 Kansas State Census
as this is the type of information contained in that record. PLEASE NOTE
1875, not 1855. Jesse and Sarah were still living in Lafayette, Tippecanoe
Co., IN in 1870. With the exceptions of the additions mentioned, I have
documentation for all other data contained in this article so I can indeed
verify the information.

Deanna Peterson Wichita, KS