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JOHN FINDLEY (1810–1871),
SON OF EDMOND OF INDIANA, MISSOURI, AND TEXAS

A California Pioneer

By Carmen J. Finley, Ph.D., C.G.

John Findley led a colorful life. He was born in Tennessee, lived in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Texas before going on to California. He had three wives, two of whom were his first cousins, and, according to one report, had a total of twenty-one children. He met his untimely death at the hands of his daughter-in-law’s brother. Trying to trace him and attach him to the proper father has been an interesting challenge.

Perhaps the most illuminating story of his life was written by his granddaughter, Ethel Work Balmer (1894–1978).

Garolds great grand Father and Great Grand mother Findley

Great Grand mothers maiden name was Sarah Masters they were Both Born in Texas He was married three times. His first wife was a cousin of his I don’t know if she was a first cousin or Second cousin – They had nine children She passed away, And he married your Great Grand mother they had Six children and He left her, they [John & Sarah] had six children John, Julie, Nancy, Billie, Eddie, Mary. when Nancy was 6 years old, their parents seperated And Great Grand Father married His first wife’s sister his cousin, Betty She was fifteen years old then. They [John and Elizabeth] had six children Katherine, Elizabeth, Dave Sam And Harve and Martha.

Martha was the oldest And she passed away And was burried when they were crossing the plains from Texas they came to Calif in 1858 taken them six month to cross the plains by ox teams they first settled in Los Angeles then came on to Kern Co. Great grand mother & her children stayed on in Kern Co. Great Grand Father & his last wife settled in Drum Valley about 1860 or 62. Great Grand Mothers Son Eddie passed away when He was three years old and burried in Texas. Your Grand Father Billie or his Sisters never knew where their half Brothers and Sisters by their Fathers first wife went As He never told them. As He lost all tract of them, And we have no record of their first names. He had 21 children by the three wives – Nancy married William Work in 1864 near Visalia and they lived in Drum Valley for some time Then Great Grand Mother lived with her so she could be near her and Billie Findley She was a very wonderful person and very Religious – She wanted to go visit her other Daughters in Bakersfield. – So Her son in Law William Work taken her to Bakersfield And she was only there a few weeks and passed away there in 1885. was buried near Bakersfield – Great Grand Father was murdered at Drum Valley in 1870 – He had lived in Drum Valley 12 years before his Death. Great Grand Father never talked of any Brothers or Sisters. So we have No Record of any. His mother lived to be Ninety years old And passed

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OUTLINE FINLEY PEDIGREE
TO SHOW RELATIONSHIPS DISCUSSED

David Finley
1754–1848
m. Elizabeth Mounts
1763–1835

• Samuel Finley
  1784–1853
  m. 1819 Martha Downing
  • John Finley (of Boone)
    m. Keziah Head
  • Samuel J. Finley
    1826–1876
  • Elizabeth Finley
    1829–1888
    m. John Findley
• Edmond Finley
  1786–1860
  m. Catherine
  • Mahala Finley
    1814–?
    m. 1831 John Findley
  • John Findley
    1810–1871
    (of Tulare)
    m. (1) Mahala Finley
    m. (2) Sarah
    m. (3) Elizabeth Finley
• John Finley
  1785–1854
  m. 1805 Margaret Brown
• Jesse Finley
  1799–1850/70

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away in Texas. When your Grand Father [Billie] was a small child – Aunt Julie & Mary married Mose & Joe Hart. And John Findley [b. Arkansas 1841] married a girl by the name of Harrington [Carrington]. Uncle John passed away in Arizona when he was 32 years old. They had two Daughters Verdie & Sadie they are in Los Angeles – Julie Hart had twelve children, Nancy Work had thirteen children, Mary Hart had Six children – Billie Findly married Ellen Woody and they had ten children¹

Much of what Ethel Work Balmer said can be documented and the key to establishing Edmond [Edmund] Finley as John’s father lies in her opening paragraph which identifies John’s first and third wives as cousins, naming the last wife as Betty and identifying her children by name: Katherine, Elizabeth, David, Samuel, Harvey and Martha.²

John’s Untimely Death

On 7 August 1871, John was shot to death at home. The local newspaper carried this story:

Horrible Murder

We understand that Mr. John Findley, an old resident and a well known citizen, was murdered at his residence on Monday evening last. The old man was at home, in bed, when, just as the moon was rising, he heard someone call for him in the direction of the dooryard fence. He arose and went to the fence, some three rods from the door, when two men came up out of the creek bed, from the other side, and when within a few feet, one of them discharged what seems to have been a double-barreled shotgun in Mr. Findley’s head, and leaving the brains scattered about the dooryard. Whatever of clues there may be to this fiendish act, is a matter that we feel bound to forebear discussing for the present.³

¹ Ethel Work Balmer was daughter of Nancy Caroline (Findley) Work, daughter of John by his second wife, Sarah Masters. A copy of the original undated letter was sent to the author by Michelle Yahnian, 2607 E. Houston, Visalia, CA 93291, who estimates it was written about 1916. Garold, to whom the letter is addressed, is the son of John Moses Findley, grandson of William J. Findley, and great grandson of John and Sarah Masters. A biographical sketch of William is found in Eugene L. Menefee, History of Tulare and Kings Counties (Los Angeles: Historic Record Co., 1913), 840-41.

² Subsequent research verified all children named by Balmer except Martha.

³ Visalia Weekly Delta, Visalia, Calif., 10 Aug. 1871. A grand jury investigation followed and in the County Court of Tulare on 11 Nov. 1871, Thomas Woody and George Reeves were accused and indicted for the murder of John Findley. The trial took place during 1872 and 1873. Woody entered a plea of not guilty, but was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death. The case was appealed; the jury returned a verdict of second degree murder, and Woody was sentenced to State Prison for twenty-five years. Reeves entered a plea of not guilty, and, on motion of the District Attorney, was discharged. No motive was mentioned. Detailed court records exist in Tulare Co. for those who are interested in additional details. However, the purpose of this article is to prove the identity of John Findley.

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This left John’s third wife, Elizabeth, with six children ranging in age from less than one year to about 15 years of age. The youngest child, Jefferson, was born only about two months before John’s murder, but died young. The 1870 census lists all children except Jefferson.⁴

In John’s probate papers, his wife, Elizabeth, on 4 September 1871, listed their children as David, 14; Catherine, 11; Elizabeth, 9; Samuel, 5; Harvey, 2; and Jefferson, 3 months. However, a petition filed on 7 November 1871 by John Findley, son of John by Sarah Masters, listed the children as David, 15; Catherine, 12; Elizabeth, 10; Samuel, 5; and Harvey, 3.⁵ So it is assumed that the infant Jefferson died before this date.

The Sonoma County Connection

An application for guardianship for David, Katherine, Elizabeth, Samuel and Harvey Findley was made in Sonoma County on 27 November 1872 in which John and Samuel J. Finley were stated to be their uncles and only relatives residing in Sonoma County.

John Finley uncle of David Findley, Katherine Findley, Elizabeth Findley, Samuel Findley and Harvey minor children of John Findley deceased having on the 27^th day of November A.D. 1872 made application, by petition, to the Probate Judge of this County, for the appointment of John Finley as the Guardian of the persons and estate of said minors; and it having appeared to said Judge that the only relatives of said minors residing in this County are the mother of said minors and Samuel J. Finley and John Finley. . . .⁶

On 2 January 1873, letters of guardianship were granted to John Finley; he posted a bond of $7,000 and took an oath to act as guardian. He functioned in this capacity until all children were of age. The final accounting for

⁴ 1870 U.S. Census, Tulare Co., Visalia, Calif., p. 276, dwelling 65, family 64; National Archives microfilm M593, roll 92.

⁵ Tulare Co., Calif., probate file no. 118.

⁶ Sonoma Co., Calif., probate file #584, reel #17.

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Harvey was signed on 11 January 1890.

Bible Records of John and Keziah Finley

John and Keziah (Head) Finley came to Sonoma County in 1852 from Bates County, Missouri, and lived for the rest of their lives in Bodega Township.⁷ The Bible they left contained vital data not only for their children, but also for John’s parents.⁸ It showed that John, born in Tennessee,⁹ was the son of Samuel and Martha (Downing) Finley. The data for that generation includes a family of five boys and three girls born between 1811 and 1829 and is reproduced here.

This family has been studied extensively and aside from the fact that the birthplaces shown are not accurate, except for Samuel and Martha, the composition of the family can be supported from other existing documents.¹¹

Note that Elizabeth, the youngest child in this family was born 13 April 1829 and compare with the Elizabeth Findley whose age was 40 in the 1870

⁷ Carmen J. Finley, The Finleys of Early Sonoma County, California (Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1997).

⁸ Family data, John Finley Family Bible, The Complete Domestic Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (Philadelphia: Hubbard Bros., 1873). Copy in possession of author.

⁹ The Bible record is in error on John’s birthplace. He was actually born in Indiana. In fact, all of Samuel and Martha’s children were born in Indiana.

¹⁰ The Bible record is in error on his middle initial, which should be “J.” The record was written many years after Samuel’s birth, as the Bible carries the publishing date of 1873 (supra note 8). A biographical sketch of his son, James Buchanan Finley, gives his father’s middle name as “Joseph.” (Portrait and Biographical Record of Arizona [Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co., 1901], 414-15).

¹¹ Finleys of Early Sonoma County [supra note 7]; Carmen J. Finley, “David Finley (1754-1848): Correlating the Record,” NGSQ 76 (1988): 112-20; Carmen J. Finley, “Identifying the Revolutionary Soldier: James Downing of Lincoln County, Virginia (Kentucky), NGSQ 77 (1989): 169-85; Carmen J. Finley, “John and Mary Finley of Montgomery (Wythe) County, Virginia,” VG 34 (1990): 243-55, 35 (1991): 18-33, 122-35, 173-85, 251-62.

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census of Tulare County. Note also that John and Samuel would be uncles of Elizabeth’s children named in the guardianship records for her children. There can be no doubt that Elizabeth, wife of John Findley of Tulare County is the youngest sister of John and Samuel of Sonoma County.

Samuel Finley’s Probate Records in Macon County, Illinois

Samuel Finley, father of John, Samuel, and Elizabeth, died 15 September 1835 in Decatur, Macon County, Illinois, and a number of records remain. Most important for this paper is a document dated 29 August 1836 in which a suit was brought by John Finley and his wife Mahala against her brothers and sisters, George M. Braden and Nancy Braden, his wife, Alvin Finley, Jefferson Finley, James Finley, John Finley, Samuel Finley, and Elizabeth Finley. Mahala is identified as the wife of John Finley and the daughter of Samuel Finley.¹² It is not known for how long they stayed in Macon County, but on 14 March 1840 a statement was filed by Jacob Black saying that, “John Finley and Mahala his wife (formerly Mahala Finley) Jefferson Finley and James Finley heirs of Samuel Finley of the County of Macon, are not residents of this State – but reside in the State of Missouri.”¹³

Clearly, the cousins that Ethel Work Balmer said were the first and third wives of John Findley of Tulare County were Mahala and Elizabeth Finley, daughters of Samuel and Martha (Downing) Finley.

The Next Generation Back

If Mahala and Elizabeth Finley were first cousins of John Findley of Tulare County, then their father, Samuel, was a brother of John Findley’s father. Samuel’s parents have been documented as David and Elizabeth (Mounts) Finley.¹⁴ David, originally from Virginia, went to what is now Garrard County, Kentucky, about 1780. The earliest written record of him there was dated 10 February, 1781 when his wife, Betsy Finley, made a deposition concerning the death of her father, Matthias Mounts.¹⁵ Intermittent tax lists show David in residence there through 1810, with a John Finley appearing near David in 1806, 1807, and 1809 owning no property.¹⁶ By 1811, David and Elizabeth and eight of their nine children

¹² Macon Co., Ill., probate file no. A76.

¹³ Macon Co., Ill., Probate Records, case no. 17, box 1, FHL microfilm 983281.

¹⁴ “David Finley . . . Correcting the Record” [supra note 11]; “John and Mary Finley” [supra note 11].

¹⁵ Garrard Co., Ky., Circuit Court, box 2, suit 39, book 1:407.

¹⁶ Garrard Co., Ky., Tax Records, FHL microfilms 007988 and 007989.

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had moved to Orange County, Indiana, and were recorded either there or in the adjacent counties of Lawrence or Washington over the next few years.

David wrote his will on 25 March 1834,¹⁷ and the final settlement was made in 1851 with David’s son, Cyrus, serving as executor.¹⁸ David’s heirs included:

John Findley
Jane Smith
Edmund Findley
Samuel Findley’s heirs
Jesse Findley

Harvey Findley’s heirs
Polly Maxwell’s heirs
Elizabeth Sneed
Cyrus Findley

A previous study established the vital dates for David’s children.¹⁹

John Findley of Tulare County was born in 1810 in Tennessee.²¹ This eliminates Jesse, Harvey, Cyrus and Jefferson as possible fathers of John Findley, as these younger children of David all married after 1810. The only possibilities, then, are John and Edmund. John married Margaret Peggy Brown on 18 January 1805 in Garrard County, Kentucky.²² In 1810 John had his own set of problems, in the May Court 1810: “Clerk of this Court is ordered to bind to Arabia Brown, Huston and Milton Finley, children of

¹⁷ David Finley will, 25 March 1834, Orange Co., Will Book A:147, County Clerk’s Office, Paoli, Ind.

¹⁸ Orange Co., Ind., Probate Book, 4:111.

¹⁹ “David Finley . . . Correcting the Record” [supra note 11].

²⁰ The spelling became Edmond in later years.

²¹ A photo of his grave marker on the Christmas Ranch, Boyd’s Grade, Tulare Co., was taken by descendant Michelle Yahnian that gives year of birth as 1810; see also “David Finley . . . Correcting the Record” [supra note 11]. The 1850, 1860, and 1870 census records give place of birth as Tennessee (see Finleys of Early Sonoma County [supra note 7]).

²² Garrard Co., Ky., General Index to Marriages, 1797–1858, Box 2, Bond 337, FHL microfilm 0183255.

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John Finley, as the law directs.”²³ On 12 August 1814, Peggy Findly filed a suit for divorce, claiming abuse. She said they separated in 1809 or 1810 and stated John was in Indiana and in the regular army.²⁴

This leaves Edmond as the prime candidate to be the father of John Findley of Tulare. The evidence for Edmond is sparse but what there is consistent with the hypothesis that he is, in fact, the father of John of Tulare.

The first written record found for Edmond was a deed in Washington County, Indiana, dated 17 June 1819, when he and his wife, Catherine, sold 40 acres in the Lost River area of Washington County to Jonah Harris. Edmond and Catherine, however, were described as of Orange County at that time.²⁵ However, Edmond was not found in the 1820 census of Indiana as were his father and brothers, John, Samuel, Jesse, Harvey and Cyrus.²⁶

The first census record found for Edmond was 1830 in Wayne County, Missouri, in close proximity to his brother Jesse.²⁷

Edmond’s household does have a male in the age range of 20–30, which is where one would expect John of Tulare to be. It is interesting to note that Edmond does not have a female in his household old enough to be his wife. This raises the question as to a missing mother for the children, one which has not been solved as of this writing. There is, of course, the possibility of an error in the recording of the census. In 1840, Edmond was found in Van Buren County, Missouri, along with two younger Findleys.²⁸

²³ Garrard Co., Ky., Order Book 13:333.

²⁴ Garrard Co., Ky., Order Book 5:79, box 7, bundle 26, suit 193. This document was found by Judy Hofstetter, 3008 Houston Blvd., Louisville, KY 40220-2208.

²⁵ Washington Co., Ind., Deed Book B:247.

²⁶ David and John were found in Lawrence Co.; Samuel, Cyrus and Jesse in Orange Co.; Harvey in Washington Co. These are all adjacent counties in southern Indiana.

²⁷ 1830 U.S. Census, Wayne Co., Mo., pp. 38, 41; National Archives microfilm M19, roll 37.

²⁸ 1840 U.S. Census, Van Buren Co., Mo., pp. 129, 138; National Archives microfilm M704, roll 232.

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This John Findley is of an age to be John of Tulare. It is interesting to note there are three males in the 20–30 age range and correlate this with the statement made by Jacob Black that “John Finley and Mahala his wife (formerly Mahala Finley) Jefferson Finley and James Finley heirs of Samuel Finley of the County of Macon, are not residents of this State – but reside in the State of Missouri.” John, Jefferson and James were all (or nearly) in this age category in 1840. It is also noted that Edmond was in the 40–50 age range in both 1830 and 1840—probably an inaccuracy in the recording. These Findleys are also in the same general area where John Finley of Bodega was found in 1850. However, by 1850, Edmond and Catherine had moved on to Hopkins County, Texas, and were living in the household of 25 year-old Lewis Findley. Edmond’s age was 63 and Catherine was 65. Other members of the household included Leticia, 35; Sintha Wetherly, 18; and Edmund, age 6 months.²⁹ While Lewis was not found in the 1840 census near Edmond in Van Buren County, he was named together with Edmond in the transfer of land to Martin Taylor and Robert N. Feely on 1 March 1852 in Cass County.³⁰ In 1852 there were also additional sales by Lewis and Letitia, his wife, and by Edmond and his wife, Catherine.³¹ Prior to that, in 1845 and 1848, there were sales by David Findley and Margaret A., his wife.³²

John Findley was found in adjacent Hunt County, Texas, in 1850.³³

John, Julia, Edmund and Nancy, along with their younger siblings William and Mary, were all named in the probate records of John Findley who

²⁹ 1850 U.S. Census, Hopkins Co., Tex., p. 22, dwelling 165, family 165; National Archives microfilm M432, roll 911.

³⁰ Cass Co., Mo., Book F:456. Van Buren Co. was renamed as Cass in 1849.

³¹ Cass Co., Mo., Books F:448, C:127-28.

³² Cass Co., Mo., Books C:389, F:10, F:148.

³³ 1850 U.S. Census, Hunt Co., Tex., p. 416, dwelling 163, family 169; National Archives microfilm M432, roll 911.

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was killed in Tulare County on 7 August 1871.³⁴ Martha had died on the way to California according to Ethel Work Balmer, and Elizabeth is most likely wife number three about to happen. Balmer’s assertion that the wagon train carrying John, Sarah, Elizabeth, and children ended first in Los Angeles, can also be verified with census records.

The Trek to California

Balmer states that John, together with wife number two, Sarah, and her children, along with wife number three, Elizabeth, and her child, came to California in 1858 and first settled in Los Angeles. This family is listed in the 1860 census in Tejon, Los Angeles County.³⁵

John and Sarah’s daughter, Julia, had married Moses Hart and they were also living in the neighborhood.³⁶ Balmer says “Eddie” [Edmund] died in Texas and Martha died on the way to California. Unaccounted for is William. Nor is it known who the three youngest members of Sarah’s household are.

By 1870 John and Elizabeth were in Tulare County where, as mentioned above, they appear in the census.³⁷ Living next door was William, son of John and Sarah.³⁸

³⁴ Tulare Co., Calif., Probate Court, estate no. 118.

³⁵ 1860 U.S. Census, Los Angeles Co., Tejon, Calif., p. 537, dwelling 515, family 504; p. 538, dwelling 523, family 512; National Archives microfilm M653, roll 59.

³⁶ 1860 U.S. Census, Los Angeles Co., Tejon, Calif., p. 537, dwelling 513, family 302; National Archives microfilm M653, roll 59.

³⁷ 1870 U.S. Census, Tulare Co., Visalia, Calif., p. 276, dwelling 65, family 64; National Archives microfilm M593, roll 92.

³⁸ 1870 U.S. Census, Tulare Co., Visalia, Calif., p. 276, dwelling 66, family 65; National Archives microfilm M593, roll 92.