John and Nancy (McMullen) Bales Reunion 1906 –
Considering this Sunday is the annual Bales Reunion, I thought it would be fun to feature a Bales Reunion photo from a few years back. Okay, so maybe that’s an understatement. I suppose a century is more than a few years.
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This large reunion photo includes descendants of John and Nancy (McMullen) Bales.
The Bales line really liked to name boys John. I come from a line of John I, John II, John III, William, Jacob, John, and John Henry. Pretty much each one of those Johns and each one of those Johns’ brothers also named a son John, so that makes for some really confusing records.
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John Bales
This John Bales was born in Jefferson County, TN in 1807. In her book We Pass the Words Along, Miriam Halbert Bales shares some of the stories Randolph County, Indiana Judge Alonzo Bales relayed from his grandfather.
“John told Alonzo that he remembered well the rejoicing in that backwood
country when they received the news of victory at New Orleans and the end of
the war, for both reached them at the same time. His school days consisted of
about six weeks in a LOUD school in the hills of his native state. he
remembered the voyage to Indiana and has given an account of his only trip to
the city of Indianapolis. He had just reached his majority. With his brother
Henry, he walked and rode in the ride and tie manner, having one horse and one
rifle between them. His opinion of the state capital was never high. He always
referred to it as low and muddy and too close to the banks of the river to suit
him.”
John Bales married Nancy McMullen in 1832. He came to Indiana with his parents and siblings in 1815 before Indiana was even a state. They settled in Wayne County near what is now Dublin.
John Bales passed away in 1884. His obituary states he was a member of the United Brethren Church for 41 years and “proved himself a light in the world and a blessing to the church and his
neighbors.”
Nancy (McMullen) Bales
Nancy (McMullen) Bales is pictured in the John and Nancy McMullen Bales Reunion 1896 post as a very old lady. John and Nancy are both buried at West River Friends Burial Ground in Wayne County, Indiana. Their graves are not marked because the plain-living Quakers in those days believed gravestones to be vanity.
John & Nancy Bales Descendants
John and Nancy had four living children. I suspect there may have been additional children that died in infancy considering the large age gap between Sarah and William, but who really knows?
- Sarah Bales (1834-1904) married Moses Keever
- William Dickey Bales (1843-1918) married Rebecca Jackson
- Martha Bales (1848-1927) married Isaac Beeson
- John Henry Bales (1851-1939) married Martha Ann Batchelor
Bales Reunion 1906 Photo
This photo only shows descendants of Sarah (Bales) Keever, William Dickey Bales, and John Henry Bales. I have no idea why none of the Martha (Bales) Beeson descendants were at this reunion. Many of them were still in the geographic area. Maybe they had another family event that day.
Fourth Row – Ernie Anderson, Carl Root, Clara Root, William Root
Third Row – Ozro Bales (holding Blanche), Estella (Sharp) Bales, Bertha Tinkle, Sarah (Bales) Keever, Rosella (Bales) Oberender, Merl, Charles (holding Ester), Emma, Alonzo
Second Row – Ralph Edgar Bales, Martha Ann (Bachelor), John Henry Bales (holding Hilda Oberender), Rebecca (Jackson) Bales, William Dickey Bales, Royce Bales, John Keever, Maymie Keever
First Row – unknown girl, Hazel Oberender, Fern Anderson, Mary, Ruth, William, Walter Coggeshall, Ralph Winter Bales
You can view a very nice family tree someone else has entered for these individuals at World Connect by clicking here.
Past Way Back Wednesday Photos Related to this Topic
Of course, Ozro Bales is a continual source of mystery, and you may remember him from What Ethnicity Was Ozro Bales?, Could My Ancestor Have Been One of the Mysterious Melungeons?, Ozro Bales Driving a Buggy Fast, and Ozro Bales Sells Hogs.
Ozro’s wife Estella (Sharp) Bales was featured in Sunday School Class Bloomingport, Randolph County, Indiana. There’s more information about her lineage in This Family Reunion Looks Sharp and Dear Aunt Polly Brittain Holds an Important Clue.
And remember my great-grandpa Ralph Edgar Bales from The Search for the Secret Lovechild of My Great-Grandfather. I’m still looking for the secret lovechild, by the way!
More can be found about John Henry and Martha (Bachelor) Bales in Bloomingsport Livery Stable and Carlos City to Carlos Mystery Solved and JH Bales Butter, Eggs, and Poultry Wagon.
Blanche (Bales) Sickels and the Oberender sisters are discussed in Gender-Confused, Transgender, or Just Messing Around? and JoJo’s Got Nothing on These Hair Bows.
You can also see the John & Nancy (McMullen) Bales Reunion 1896 and learn the connection between the Coggeshall boys and the name of Carlos City, Indiana.
Let me know if you have any connections to these family lines. I love to find new cousins!
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