Manerva KEENER

1845 - 1916  (~ 70 years)

• Name	Manerva KEENER
  Born	Sep 1845	Harrison Co, (W)VA   [1, 2]
  	Birth date given in 1900 Census as Sep 1845, and age 21 at the time of her Dec 1866 marriage also puts it in about 1845. But age 71y 4m 26d in her death record calculates to a birth date of Sep 15 1844.
  Gender	Female
  Census	1870	Willey District, Lewis Co, WV
  Census	1880, 1900, 1910	Freemans Creek District, Lewis Co, WV
  Died	10 Feb 1916	Alum Bridge, Lewis Co, WV   [3]
  	Cause: La Grippe
  Buried	Walnut Fork (formerly Bethel) Cemetery, near Vadis (CR 11/5), Lewis Co, WV   [4]
  Person ID	I127307	Doddridge County Roots
  Last Modified	17 May 2020

  
  

  Father	William H. KEENER,   b. 18 Mar 1821, Taylor Co, (W)VA ,   d. 9 Jan 1912, Alum Bridge, Lewis Co, WV  (Age 90 years)
  Mother	Rosannah SHAHAN,   b. 1826, Lewis Co, (W)VA ,   d. 1888  (Age 62 years)
  Family ID	F55395	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	James Madison SMITH,   b. 1845, Rockbridge Co, VA ,   d. 14 Jan 1938, Spencer, Roane Co, WV  (Age 93 years)
  Married	6 Dec 1866	Harrison Co, WV   [2]
  Notes	1870 Census, Lewis Co, WV (Willey Twp), enumerated on Aug 31 1870: Madison Smith, 24, farmer, value of real estate (blank), value of personal estate $150, cannot read/write; Manerva, 24, cannot write; James W, 2. 1880 Census, Lewis Co, WV (Freemans Creek District), enumerated on Jun 5 1880: William Keener, 59, farmer; wife Rosanna, 55, cannot read/write; dau Sarah, 24, cannot write; son Thomas, 21, single, works on farm; son Aaron, 17, works on farm, cannot write; Louis L. (relationship blank), 12, works on farm; dau Manerva Smith, 35, widowed; grandson James W. Smith, 12; grandson George T. Smith; grandson Alvin L. Smith; Sarah O. Smith (relationship blank), 7 months, birth month December. NOTE: Manerva's stated marital status was incorrect. It was not unusual in those time for women, and sometimes men, to claim to be widowed rather than admit to the perceived shame of separation or divorce. At some point, her husband moved to Roane County, where he remarried, had a family, and died in 1938. Manerva retained the Smith surname for the rest of her life. When she died in 1916, her death record gave her marital status as widowed. 1900 Census, Lewis Co, WV (Freemans Creek District), enumerated on Jun 11 1900: Minerva Smith, 54, b. Sep 1845, widowed, mother of 1 [sic] child (still living), farmer; son Alvin, 25, b. May 1875, single, grocery salesman; niece Florence Bowman, 14, b. May 1886; niece Sarah Keener, 11, b. Sep 1888. 1910 Census, Lewis Co, WV (Freemans Creek District), enumerated on Apr 25 1910: Alvin Smith, 34, merchant in general store, married 2 yrs; wife Ursula, 23, married 2 yrs, mother of 1 child (still living); son Ralph, 1; mother Manerva Smith, 64, widowed, mother of 2 [sic] children (both still living). NOTE: The next enumerated household was that of Manerva's son George, his wife and their five children.
  Children	+ 1. George Thomas SMITH,   b. 1870, Harrison Co, (W)VA ,   d. 13 Jul 1940, Lewis Co, WV  (Age 70 years)
  Family ID	F55393	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S2150] 1900 Census, Lewis County, WV. [S1654] Harrison County Marriage Records, Clarksburg, WV, MR p. 45, Dec 6th : http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=253432&Type=Marriage. [S1631] Lewis County Death Records, Weston, WV, DR p. 175, Line 30 : http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=4930125&Type=Death. [S934] Findagrave.com.