How could such a specific news story be wrong? (Yes, I was naive.)
At first reading I thought it must be true. Alice remained in Lyons and was raised by her maternal grandparents and aunt, Hattie Conkling. I have found no indication that Homer and Rebecca ever lived together again, and Rebecca died in 1896. By 1885 Rebecca and Alice were living with Rebecca’s parents in Lyons, Kansas. Daughter Alice was born in 1878 during their time in Lake County, Indiana. Homer served as pastor in Presbyterian churches across eastern and southern Ohio and Indiana during a long career in the ministry. A family history written by another Sheeley sister, Margaretta Linn Sheeley, referred to Rebecca’s “long period of invalidism, ante-dating her marriage,” while other sources say she became an invalid following the birth of their only child, my great grandmother Alice (Sheeley) Stephenson. Rebecca had attended Western Female Seminary in Oxford, Ohio, (eventually merged with his alma mater, Miami University), where she was a close friend and classmate of Homer’s sister, Maria (Sheeley) Andrews (1843-1937). Homer and Rebecca Conkling (1845-1894) were married in 1876. Like his brothers Virgil and Brownhill Tidball Sheeley, Homer became a Presbyterian minister. Between 18 he attended Danville Theological Seminary, Danville, Kentucky and Union Theological Seminary, New York. There must be a story there.įollowing the war, Homer attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He was mustered out on May 16th and his rank was reduced to private on June 19, 1865. Homer enlisted as a corporal in Company C of the Ohio 81st Infantry Regiment on February 20, 1865. His Civil War military service began late in the war and lasted only a few months. By 1863 Homer was employed as a teacher, according to his Civil War draft registration. At age 19, the 1860 census listed Homer and his elder brother Virgil as carpenters, and their father as a cabinet maker. Homer Sheeley, born in Ohio in 1841, was the second of nine children born to John/Jehu Scott and Jane Caldwell (Tidball) Sheeley. Finally last week I confirmed when he did NOT die. I know quite a bit about his life, but confirming his death has been a challenge. “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” The well known Mark Twain quote seems very apt when it comes to the death of my great great grandfather, Homer Sheeley.
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