Mary
Jane (Minerd) Dillon
(1831?-1856?)
Mary Jane (Minerd) Dillon was born
in about 1831 near Scio, Harrison
County, OH, the daughter of John and
Barbara (Shaeffer) Minerd Jr. She was a pioneer settler of western Ohio and
eastern Indiana.
In 1840, when Mary Jane was about age nine, she and her parents left Harrison County. Using "a good team of horses and a substantial wagon," a newspaper once said, they traveled across the state, a "very tedious and slow" journey. The family settled in Van Wert County, OH, and in 1845 moved to a farm along the Ohio state line in Allen County, IN.
On Sept. 8, 1850, in Allen County, Mary Jane married John Quincy Adams Dillon (1827- ? ), the son of Asa and Mary Dillon. She was six years younger than her husband. They moved right away into the home of John's parents near Monroeville, Allen County, where John worked as a farm laborer.
The Dillons had at least three children -- Ira Dillon, Candace Dillon and Huron Dillon. (Candace's name also has been spelled "Kansas" in myriad other legal records.)
Sadly, Huron died at age two in January 1854, and was laid to rest in the Stephenson family cemetery, also known as the Sugar Ridge Cemetery near Monroeville, IN.
Tragically, Mary Jane also died young, on Oct. (or Dec.) 17, at age 25 years, six months and two days. The year is not precisely known, but the faded inscription on her gravestone suggests 1856. She was laid to rest with son Huron at Sugar Ridge Cemetery.
Newly widowed, John quickly remarried to Louisa (?) (1832- ? ) and kept his family together, residing on a farm near Monroeville when the census was enumerated in 1860. Son Ira and daughter Candace (spelled "Cantes") lived under their roof that year.
By 1870, John and Louisa had moved to Jefferson Township, Noble County, IN. He continued his work as a farmer, with their home located within close vicinity of the county poor house. The census of that year shows John's first name as "Quincy" and children Ira and Candace in their home, as well as step-siblings Harrell Dillon, Emma Dillon, Mary J. Dillon and William Dillon.
John's fate is not yet learned. He may be the same "John Dillon" whom the Fort Wayne Daily News reported in June 1897 had been "found yesterday lying dead by the side of the Vandalia tracks, two miles west of [Greencastle]. Marks on the body show that he had been struck while sitting or lying down." It is not confirmed that this is our man.
Ira and Candace's grandfather John Minerd Jr. died in 1898. The terms of John's will stated that the two Dillon children were to receive payments of $50 each within a certain timeframe.
Candace Dillon (1857- ? ) was born in November 1856 and got married in 1879 or 1880 at the age of 23. Her husband was Ohio native John S. Melvin (1854- ? ). They had one son, Howard C. Melvin (born in April 1885). The federal census of 1900 shows the Melvins living in Jefferson Township, Noble County, IN, where they were farmers. One of their near neighbors was Candace's brother Ira Dillon. Sometime between 1900 and 1910, the Melvins lost their son Howard to causes unknown. They migrated to the Pacific Northwest, and settled in Kittitas County, Washington State. John found work as a farm operator, and the 1910 census shows them living in South Kittitas Township. Their next-door neighbor that year was Candace's younger half brother, William Dillon (1868- ? ) and his wife Gertrude (1877- ? ). In 1920, they had their own farm in South Kittitas Township. The 1930 census shows the Melvins residing in Ellensburg, Kittitas County. John was employed in 1930 as an "orchardist" in a fruit farm. Their fates after that are a mystery.
Ira Dillon (1854- ? ) was born in August 1854. He married Mary L. (?) (1859- ? ) in about 1881. They had one son, Dallas Bruce Dillon. In 1900, when the federal census was taken, the Dillons made their home in Jefferson Township, Noble County, IN, where they were farmers. One of their near neighbors was Ira's married sister Candace Melvin and her husband John S. Melvin. Ira may have resided in Kendallville circa 1916 when a local newspaper reported that he had paid his county taxes. In November 1914, the Daily News said that "Mr. and Mrs. Ira Dillon and son Dallas are visiting friends in Ohio, Virginia and New York." A December 1916 article in the Daily News said that "Mr. and Mrs. Ira Dillon and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Crothers were Thanksgiving visitors with Mr. and Mrs. William Singrey, of this city, and were accompanied home by the latter, where Mrs. Singrey will be the guest of her daughter, Mrs. Corothers." In 1920, the Dillons lived in Wayne Township, Noble County, and were retired. Ira is believed to have died by 1930, when his 70-year-old widow Lucy resided in Kendallville, on Main Street, with 69-year-old Flora Whitford living with her as a lodger.
- Son Dallas Bruce Dillon (1895- ? ) lived in Kendallville. He was of medium build, with blue eyes and brown hair. A Fort Wayne News story from May 1913 reports that played piano for men's day services at the local Christian Church, "it being the first of a series of special days in the month of May. The pastor spoke on the theme, 'The Glory of Man,' in the evening, the men occupying the middle section of seats in the auditorium. During World War I, he was living at 46 Aetna in Huntington, IN, and was employed by his father doing farm labor in Kendallville. By 1920, after the war ended, Dallas lived with his parents and worked as an accountant in a risk insurance business. He may have lived in Washington, DC in 1930, and worked as an auditor for the U.S. Government.
Copyright © 2002-2003, 2008 Mark A. Miner