Individual Details

Rhonda_Shoemaker@hotmail.com

Hello Rhonda!
I apologize for the delay in answering your message. We have been having the interior of our home painted, and my Dalrymple files were buried under the mess!
Your Theodore S. Dalrymple's father Aaron is one of our *Dangling Dalrymples*. After a considerable effort we still have not been able to determine who Aaron's father was. But Aaron was from one of the Hunterdon Co. NJ families.
Aaron Dalrymple and his 2nd wife Cathern (Opdyke) are buried in the Frenchtown Cemetery, which would correspond with Theodore/Jackson's statement that his mother lost his original pension certificate in their move to Frenchtown.
AARON DALRYMPLE - Kingwood Twp Hunterdon Co. NJ Census 1885; Baptistown Census 1870; Washington Twp Warren Co NJ 1850
b. 1808 Tombstone
d. Jan 27 1887, 7-9-2 Frenchtown Cemetery
m. (1) Magdalene Fishbrough, dau of Phoebe & Mathias Fishbrough
b. 1813 d. Aug 20 1836, 22-10; Greenwich Presbytrian Church Cemetery, Warren Co. NJ
(2) Cathern Opdyke October 22 1840 (Hunt)
b. 1819 tombstone d. April 13 1889, 70-7-17, Frenchtown Cemetery
What may be of interest to you is that in Aaron's Letters of Administration 1887 do not name Theodore (or dau. Sarah who may have died) with his other children. This could imply that Theodore was not his natural son or that his family did indeed disown him. I have no information that indicates Cathern Opdyke was married previously. Cathern and Aaron were married in October 1840. Do you happen to have the month of Theodore's birth in 1840? His birth month might clarify a few things :) It would seem to appear that Theodore was born either before his mother's marriage, or she was pregnant when she married Aaron. (I have Theodore's birth as 1839, not 1840, the date came from the 1850 census record. How sure are you of the 1840 date? The year he was born could change things too :)

Did Ron send you any information on Aaron and Cathern's children? If he hasn't let me know, and I will send it to you. Aaron had 11 children. It appears from the birth dates that first born Phoebe b. Oct 6 1834 was the dau. of Aaron's first wife Magdelena Fishbrough. Your Theodore is the next born child. Then comes Mary E. born in 1841 who was the dau of Cathern Opdyke.

Phoebe was living with Cornelius Rittenhouse in 1870. Cornelius Rittenhouse was the husband of her sister Mary E. This is where Rittenhouse comes into this family. There are Rittenhouse connections to many Dalrymple branches, the name pops up all the time!

A Theodore Dalrymple married Mary A. BOWLBY October 9 1856. That would make Theodore 16 years old when he married, if he was born 1840.

There is also another Theodore Dalrymple. If your Theodore was born in Bethlehem, it makes me think that yours might be this other Theodore. Some of his siblings are in Bethlehem Twp. There is nothing to connect Aaron Dalrymple to Bethlehem. Cathern Opdyke could have come from Bethlehem, which might explain it. How sure are you that your Theodore is the son of Catherine Opdyke and Aaron Dalrymple?

This other Theodore was the son of Joseph Chamberlin Dalrymple (James, Thomas, James) and his first wife - Sarah Ann Lafee. (2nd was Catherine Crotsley), and he is the Theodore we tenatively connected to Mary A. Bowlby, which of course could be incorrect. Joseph Chamberlain was in Greenwich Twp Warren Co. NJ in 1840 and 1850, not Bethlehem. This Theodore was one of 13 siblings. We don't have his birth date, but it would fall around 1840. We know the lineage of this Theodore, back to the progenitor of the Hunterdon Co NJ family - James. But we have no other information on this Theodore. He did have a brother James Thomas who served in the Civil War in Co. C 31st Regiment. This isn't the same Regiment Theodore served in, is it?

In this same line, Mary M. (James, Thomas, James) married Luther Opdyke Aug 8 1835, son of Joshua (Luther's third marriage.) Luther was an Ensign in Capt. C. Johnson's Co. and Mary M. Dalrymple Opdyke would be this Theodore's Aunt.

Where was Theodore in MI? Many of the Dalrymples in MI descend from Eli (John, Thomas, James).

Hopefully some of this information will be helpful!
Regards,
Alison Wallner

Alison,
No apology necessary, I thank you for taking the time to lend me a hand while "under construction"! I have met the kindest people since I have started my research, it's amazing. Anyway, this is what I have:

From Theodore S. Dalrymple alias "Jackson Smith" Pension File, Civil War :
(*Almost all of the papers from this file list both names together)

Theodore S. Dalrymple was enlisted in the H 15th NJ Infantry, August 9th, 1862 as a private, he was discharged at Halls Hill, Va, June, 25th, 1865 as a corporal. In 1875 he is a resident of Phillipsburgh, NJ.

In a questioner of the Department of Interior, Bureau of Pensions,
dated 2/23/1898, while living in Sandusky, Erie Cty, OH at the Old Soldiers and Sailors Home (this is his last home and were he is buried):

1) Are you a married man? Answer) I am not married, I was married before the war to Mary Adline Bobby. Was married at New Hampton, New Jersey

4) Were you previously married? ...date and place of death or divorce. Answer) I haf bin married since Mary Former (Farmer?) Mary Adline Blby, was divorced in 1868 or about bout that time. (*I think he meant to say former, this is in his own handwriting, wonder if it could be Farmer as her new last name?)

He goes on to list his 2nd wife (my gg grandmother, whom he was divorced from and their two children, Ellsworth Jackson Smith (my g grandfather) and Vickey May Smith (Virginia Mae Smith).

In a letter to Pension Department, dated December 21, 1897 written on the Old Soldiers Home stationary explaining his name change:

...I take my pen in hand ...find out any thing about my pension? I made my claim in 1890...objected to it before he got the witness' he wanted, two men from my one company to prove that I was the man...you see I enlisted under the name of Theodor S. Dalrymple and after the war I found out that was the name of my stepfather and my name was Jackson Smith so I have went by that name every since the war, my claim was made Jackson Smith prier Theodore S Dalrymple...Signed Theodore S Dalrymple

Notorized letter from State of MI, County of Manistee, dated Jan 5, 1884
(*As far as I can determine, this is the only time he is actually living in MI, Ellsworth was born in this county, but Virginia was born in IL. I believe he was only here for about 1 year, maybe because of family? His 2nd wife Lucy, had family in lower MI)

Personally appeared before me...Theodore S Dalrymple...and that he left said certificate at the home of his mother in the town of Frenchtown in the state of New Jersey, USA and that my mother in moving lost said certificate...

*There are three Theodore Dalrymple's in the Civil War that I have found.

One served in Company A, 11th and 12th NJ Infantry, Sergeant.

The other served May 10 1861, age 25, Company I, 24th Infantry, New York,
he died of disease April 21, 1862 in Alexandria, VA, his father is listed as Otis Dalrymple, May 8, ? on pension index.

And my Theodore alias Jackson.

From Jan Skaar, medical records, Ohio State Soldiers Home, dated 1/30/03:
The veteran was admitted to Home as Theo. S. Dalrymple, there is no birth certificate or a copy of his service papers microfiched. His pension number was 137482, however on his application he stated he did not receive a pension. He was admitted to the Home 10/2/1897 from Toledo, Ohio to RB Cottage. He was admitted to the Home hospital on 1/2/1900 with malignant disease of the jaw and expired at 11:00 pm 11/16/1900 with cause of death being “extension of disease” signed by J. T. Haynes, Surgeon. He was born in Bethlehem, New Jersey 3/10/1840 and lived in Ohio for 6 years. (*not sure where they got this information, maybe Theodore himself)

He enlisted 8/9/1862 in Washington, New Jersey, he was a Private and was discharged 6/22/1865 as a Corporal in (I could not read the town) Virginia due to close of the war. His disability for admission to the Home was general disability and breaking down of his whole internal system. He owned no property and give his occupation as common labor. He was supported by any labor he could do and charity.

He stated he had no family – Louis Shanaway, father in law, 1022 W. Broadway, Toledo, OH was given as next of kin. Wife had been gone about 3 years – whereabouts unknown. (*Louis was my gg uncle and Lucy's father)

I cannot answer your question regarding the name on the virtual cemetery but I will forward this message to our public relations dept. According to my death book it is Theodore buried in the cemetery. There were no other Dalrymple’s buried in our cemetery during that time period. (*On the OSSH web site, Thomas S Dalrymple is listed on their virtual cemetery. I asked whether this was actually Theodore)

From what I can tell, this is the Theodore that married Mary Bowlby. Catherine and Aaron were married Oct 1840, that would make Theo just 7 months old. So it is possible that she is his mother. But where he gets "Jackson Smith" from is anybody's guess. I imagine that Catherine may have disclosed his real fathers name to him, as he named his son, Ellsworth Jackson Smith. Thus the quest continues. The more I learn of Catherine and her family, their neighbors and affiliations, I may be able to take an educated guess at Theodores true father, but the mystery may never be truly solved. One other bit of info I found in his pension file was the name Julia or Julie. I'll have to go through it again, it's quite bulky, and locate the paper but according to my notes, I believe it was crossed out. There may have been a mix up with one of the Theo Dalrymple pension files and this name may not be associated at all with mine. One question, where did you find the record of Theo and Mary Bowlby's marriage? I would like to request a copy.

Once again, the information you sent is invaluable, I thank you again for taking the time to send it.

Much Regards,
Rhonda Shoemaker

Birth	27 SEP 1839	New Hampton, Hunterdon Co., NJ
Marriage	9 OCT 1856	Theodore S. DALYRMPLE

Spouse	Theodore S. DALYRMPLE ( - )
Child	Calvin DALYRMPLE (1860 - )

Father	Alexander Hamilton "Alex" BOWLBY (1813 - 1896)
Mother	Margaret P. HAZLETT (1813 - 1891)
Sibling	John Wesley BOWLBY (1836 - 1912)
Sibling	Emma Amanda BOWLBY (1838 - 1912)
Sibling	Sarah Augusta BOWLBY (1841 - 1918)
Sibling	Edward Alexander BOWLBY (1842 - 1857)
Sibling	Euphemia Elizabeth BOWLBY (1845 - )
Sibling	William Joseph BOWLBY (1847 - 1867)
Sibling	Frederick Wilson BOWLBY (1852 - )
Sibling	Sylvanus Francis "Frank" BOWLBY (1856 - 1942)