George Davis Tilton

  General Notes:

George Davis Tilton
--The Western Kansas World, WaKeeney, Trego County, Kansas April 23,
1938
George Davis Tilton, better known as Grandpa Tilton, was born in
Coshocton County, Ohio, October 17, 1848 and departed this life April
23, 1938 at the age of 89 years 6 months and 5 days.
He was the son of Lewis and Elizabeth Tilton, whose family consisted
of 10 children of which all but one preceded him in death, James L.
Tilton, of Nashville, Indiana.
He was married to Sarah Ellen Howerth on February 4, 1869 in
Bartholomew County, Indiana. After a few years there and in Brown
County, they moved to Wayne County, Illinois; returned to Indiana
after two and one half years and in 1885 came to Delphos, Kansas. In
1887 they settled on a farm five miles northeast of Collyer where
they endured all the hardships of pioneer life. In 1930 they retired
from the farm to the present home.
His wife, Sarah Ellen, (better known as Grandma Tilton) passed away
December 8, 1934. To this union, eight children were born; one
daughter preceded them in death.
Those left to mourn his death, are Elmer and John Tilton and Mrs.
Ella Austin of Collyer., Ira C. Tilton of Valpariso, Indiana,
Clarence Tilton of Sharon Springs, Kansas, Bert Tilton of Boone,
Colorado, and Mrs. Lillian Curry of Lime, Oregon; 24 grandchildren
and 31 great-grandchildren, besides a host of other relatives and
friends.
In early life he gave his heart to Christ and joined the Methodist
Church. He was a faithful Christian father giving freely of his time
and means to the work he loved.
During his last illness he loved to greet his friends and loved ones
and knew them until his death.
Funeral services were held Sunday afternoon at the Zeman Hall in
Collyer, conducted by Rev. Hall, Methodist pastor of Quinter. Burial
was in the Collyer cemetery.


Sarah Ellen TILTON
~The Collyer Advance, Collyer, Trego County, Kansas, December 13,
1934, Fp
Sarah Ellen TILTON, wife of George D. TILTON, departed this life on
Saturday, December 8, 1934, after a brief illness. Quick pneumonia
was the cause assigned. She was conscious until a few hours before
her death. Mrs. TILTON left besides her devoted husband, five sons
and two daughters: Elmer, John, Ira Clarence and Albert, commonly
called Bert, Mrs. Ralph AUSTIN and Mrs. William CURRY. There are also
24 living grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren. Elmer, Mrs.
AUSTIN, and Mrs. CURRY live in Collyer; John, fourteen miles south;
Clarence, near Sharon Springs; Bert, near Boone, Colo., Ira is an
attorney, living in Valparaiso, Ind. All the children but Ira and
Bert were at her bedside when the Angel of Death summoned her to
Òthat bourn whence no traveler returns.Ó She also leaves three
sisters: Mrs. Martha A. POINTER, Selden, Kans., Mrs. Albert PERRY,
Columbus, Ind., and Mrs. Minnie GOETZ, Valparaiso, Ind., also a
brother, Dr. I. W. HOWERTH, of Greeley, Colo.
Grandma TILTON, as she was familiarly called, was the daughter of
John and Elizabeth HOWERTH. She was born near Bellaire, Ohio, on
August 9, 1851, married to George D. TILTON on February 4, 1869, in
Bartholomew County, Indiana. After a few years there in Brown County,
adjoining, the moved to Wayne County, Illinois; returned to Indiana
after two and one-half years and in 1885 came to Delphos, Kansas. In
1887, they settled on a farm four miles east of Collyer. In 1930 they
retired from the farm and have since lived in this town. For forty-
seven years, then, the TILTON's have been well known and respected
citizens of Trego County. in the sixty-six years of married life, the
elder TILTON's have lost but one child.
Mrs. TILTON, the deceased, was widely known in this community,
universally respected, esteemed and loved. From childhood she was an
active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the church of her
parents. Her genial Christian character was an example to be
emulated, and the sweet and gracious influence of her good life will
long be felt in this community.
The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Charles W. Harper, of the
Congregation church, assisted by Rev. Fred Attaberry. The services
were held in Zeman Hall, the Church being too small to accommodate
the unusually large attendance. Burial was in the Collyer Union
Cemetery.
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George D. Tilton of Collyer, Kansas, during his visit in Valpraiso,
Indiana, (about 1936 or 37), with his son, Ira C. Tilton, makes the
following statement concerning his knowledge of his family. I was born in
Ohio, October 17, 1848. My father's name was Lewis Cass Tilton, and his
father's name was Richard Tilton. My grandfather, Richard Tilton , had
brothers living in Coshocton county, Ohio, but I do not recall their
names, though I have some of their names somewhere in my records at home.
My Grandfather Richard, raised a family of children from his first wife,
the given names of whom I do not know. After the death of his first wife,
he married my grandmother, whose Maiden name was Cass, with whom he lived
for many years and raised another family, including my father, Lewis Cass
Tilton.
I have been informed through my father and others that my grandfather,
Richard lived to be 110 years old. As stated, I do not know any of the
given names of the members of my grandfather's first family. My father
belonged to his second family and I know that he had , at least, three
brothers, viz., Joseph, Edward, and Addison. My father moved to Brown
County, Indiana, when I was seven years old, where he continued to live
the rest of his life, and where I lived until 1885, at which time I
migrated from the state of Indiana to the state of Kansas where I
now live.
My mother's maiden name was Lacey. She was the daughter of William
and Nancy Lacey of Virginia. I understand that they were of Irish descent
and migrated from Virginia to Ohio where she and my father were married.
My mother's given name was Elizabeth and she had three brothers and one
sister, viz., George, James, Addison, and Frances. I know very little of
my father's brothers. It is my understanding, however, that they grew to
manhood, married and lived in Coshocton County, Ohio. My uncle Joseph had
two sons and one daughter, viz., William, Edward, and Phobe. My uncle
Addison moved from Ohio to Indiana and died in Columbus, Indiana.
My mother's brothers and sisters grew up and married. George Lacey
married Phobe Tilton, Uncle Joe's daughter. James married Nancy Hall and
they had three sons and a daughter. James Lacey died rather early and his
widow moved to southwestern Indiana where she raised the family. Two of
her three sons, by name, Edward and James were in the Civil War, as were
most of the Tiltons and Laceys of that generation. Addison Lacey married
and was the father of three girls and a son. One of these girls, Frances,
married one Branson Smallwood and raised a family of three; Arlene,
Charlie and Milton. My own father and mother, Lewis and Elizabeth Tilton,
had ten children, five sons and five daughters. My brothers , by name,
were, David, William, John and James. I was born about 2 years before
James. My sisters names were, Miria, Nancy, Mary Jane, Emma and Thursa
Love. The last three of my fathers children were born in Brown County,
Indiana. The rest of us were born in Coshocton County, Ohio.
My brothers, David William and John, served in the Civil War. John was
the only one of the three to return. He married Rachel Indel and raised a
family of three daughters, Elizabeth, Sadie and the other name I do not
remember. His wife died and he married another, whose given name was
Sarah, from whom he raised three more children, by name, William, Nancy,
and Viola. My brother James Tilton of Nashville, Indiana married Sarah
Moore. They raised three children, by name, Mamie, Frank, and Ray. My
sister, Miria, married one Leftora Stout, and raised four children, by
name, George, Anna, John and Mary. My sister, Nancy, married John Trueax,
but raised no family. My sisters, Mary Jane and
Emma never married. My youngest sister, Thursa Love, married one John
Angerman and raised a family of children, by name, Charlie, Ora, Esta,
Sina and Frank. The only ones of my immediate family remaining at this
time is my brother, James L. Tilton of Nashville, Indiana, and myself.
I married Sarah Ellen Howerth on the 4th day of February, 1869, and we
lived together continuously until the date of her death, December 8,
1934. Our children, by name and in order of their birth are as follows:
Ida May (died when three years of age.) Elmer, John, Ira, Ella, Clarence,
Bert and Lillian. They are all living except Ida May. Elmer, Ella, John
and Lillian are married and living in Trego County, Kansas. Clarence
lived in Wallace County, Kansas, and Bert now lives in Boone, Colorado;
Ira, with whom I am visiting and to whom I am making this statement lives
in Valpraiso, Indiana. The names of John's children are as follows:
George, May, Ernest, Mary, Jay and Viola. The names of Elmer's children
are as follows: Florence, Minnie, Bertha and Ellen.
The names of Ira's children are as follows: France, Arthur, Victor, Karl
and Irene. The names of Ella's children are as follows: Claude and Elva.
The names of Clarence's children are as follows: Lloyd and Everett. The
names of Bert's children are as follows: Darrell, Ray, Edith, David,
Thelma and John. Lillians children are as follows: None. My wife, Sarah,
was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Howerth. John Howerth came to this
country with his mother from England when he was four years of age. They
settled in Belmont County, Ohio. His father came at a later date. John
Howerth had three brothers, Samuel, William and Entrisol. He also had two
sisters, Mary and Sarah. My wife's mother's name was Elizabeth Bright.
She had three brothers, John, George and William. She also had two
sisters, Caroline and Martha. They were all born in Ohio. some of them
migrating later to Indiana. John and Elizabeth Howerth moved from Ohio to
Indiana when my wife, Sarah was about three years old. After my marriage
to Sarah, her father and mother moved to Wayne County, Illinois, where
Elizabeth Howerth died. John Howerth lived to be 89 and died and was
buried at Columbus, Indiana in Garland Brook Cemetery. My wife had the
following sisters: Arsula, Libby, Martha Anna, Vida, Stella and Minnie.
She had one brother, Ira W. Howerth, who now lived at Greeley, Colorado.
Arsula was married several times. Her children by name, are as follows:
John, Ira and Cora King; Claude Williams: Jesse and Mary Bassnett. Libby
died at the age of six. Martha Ann married Alfred Clark and to them were
born Charles, Mary, Lona, Josephine and Curtis. Vida married Joseph
Patterson and to them were born Stella, Cora and Elva. Stella married
Albert Perry and to them were born Earl, Nadine, Sylvan, Selma, Beuhla
and Hubert. Minnie married George Goetz and to them was born Florine and
a boy they named Howerth. Ira married Cora Sisne of Wayne County,
Illinois. They have no children.




History of George Davis & Family and his Folks by Lillian Tilton Curry
They came from England , several brothers of them came to Ohio. Most of
them went west many years ago. My Grandpa, Louis C. Tilton, was born Jan.
7, 1815. He was married to Elizabeth Lacy, who was born April 14, 1821.
They were married in Coshocton County, Ohio on Jan. 24, 1838. Grandpa
passed away Jan. 23, 1893. Grandma, Feb. 12,1896. Grandma Lacy - Tilton
was mostly English, a little Dutch and Irish. My Dad, George D. Tilton,
was born in Coshocton County, Ohio on Oct. 17, 1848. They later moved to
New Belleville, Ind. There was quite a large family, at least five boys
and five girls. The boys were; William, David, and John, who served in
the Civil War. William and David took sick and died in the service. I
think
they were married, but do not know anything of their family. John Tilton,
who later died in Fairfield, Illinois, on Jan. 27, 1932, at the age of 85
years and 8 months, had a quite a large family. I do not know too much
about them. I know he had one boy, William, who was married and had twin
boys. They named them for his dad, John, and my dad, George. My dad
signed up to go in the service but he was too young and his folks would
not let him go. The youngest boy, Jimmy was married and lived in
Nashville, Indiana. They had two boys, Frank and Ray, who were medical
doctors. Uncle Jimmy was a school teacher, owned a store , and was
president of the bank. He was almost 100 when he passed away. Their
youngest sister, Louella married John Angerman in Indiana. One of their
boys, Charley, visited all of us that lived here. My Dad, George Davis
Tilton married Sarah Ellen Howerth in her parents home at Oak Ridge,
Indiana. Her Dad, John Howerth, was Postmaster there during the Civil
War.
The Tiltons lived in Indiana and Illinois. Sarah Ellen Howerth's folks
came from England when her father was a small boy. They were chased by
pirates, took them a long time to cross the ocean. They almost starved,
they lived on potato peelings. I do not remember the number of days it
took. They came to Ohio, my mother was born at Bellaire, Ohio, on August
9,1851. My folks, George Davis and Sarah Ellen Tilton lost
one child, Ida May who passed away Oct. 9, 1871 at the age of 2 years, in
Brown County, Indiana. In 1886, the folks, their four oldest children;
Elmer, John, Ira and Ella, mother's sister, Stella and a niece, Cora
King, They left in a covered wagon for Kansas with a team and $60.00 in
dad's pocket. They lived on a farm near Delphos, Kansas, in Solomon
Valley. In 1889, Dad and his family came to Trego County, near Collyer,
where they had bought a farm from a lady, Mrs. Morgan and two children.
She was captured by Indians when she lived in the Solomon Valley. The
story is in a Kansas book and I have forgotten the name of the book, It
did not give her real name. After the Tiltons moved to Trego County near
Collyer, George Clarence, Albert Woods and Lillian Olive were born and
raised here. The Tiltons had many hardships with storms, grasshoppers,
sickness and high waters and providing for a large family. They lost
their only cow in the flood at that time. Dad and the older boys swam to
the barn to turn the horses loose. After the children were raised and
married, they bought a home and moved to Collyer, Kansas in 1931. Their
son, James Elmer was born in Brown
County, Indiana on Dec. 19,1871. He married Clara B. Austen, of Lucas,
Kansas. They were farmers and telephone people near and in Collyer. Their
family was four girls; Florence, Minnie, Bertha, and Ellen. Their son,
John Lewis was born in Wayne County, Illinois on Aug. 13,1874. He married
Mary L. Sparks of Zurich, Kansas. They were farmers and telephone people
at Banner and Wallace County. They lost four children while babies. Two
girls and a boy in Wallace County are buried in County Church Cemetery
and a boy near Banner is buried in Collyer cemetery. That left them three
boys; George S., Ernest and Jay and three girls; Mae, Mary, and Viola.
Ira Clement was born in Wayne County, Illinois on Dec.4,1877. Ira was
married to Esther Eichenberger of Tribune, Kansas. They were school
teachers. Later moved to Valparaiso, Indiana, where Ira is an attorney at
law. They had a family of three boys; Arthur, Victor, and Karl. Victor
was killed in a car accident while in school. They also had two girls;
Frances and Irene.
Luella Florence was married to John Ralph Austin of Collyer, Kansas, but
lived here. They were farmers and mail carriers. They had one son; Claude
Ulrich and one daughter; Elva Eveline. Ella was born on Oct. 24,1879 in
Brown County, Indiana. Clarence was born March 23,1890 near Collyer and
married Estella Brown. They were farmers here and at Sharon Springs,
Kansas. They had two sons; Lloyd and Everett. Bert W. was born, Nov. 9,
1891 near Collyer. He was married to Viola A. Tilton, of Glasco, Kansas.
Just the name, no relation. They were farmers here and at Boone,
Colorado. They had four boys; Darrel, Ray, David and John Albert and two
girls; Edith and Thelma. David was electrocuted while at his work, he was
married and had three children. Lillian Olive Tilton was born near
Collyer, Kansas on Aug. 23,1894 and was married to William Curry of
Baltimore, but was living here. They were farmers, operated a telephone
office. He owned and ran a truck. I do not know if we were lucky or
unlucky, no children of our own. We just had a claim on most all of the
kids. Our family has all celebrated their 50th. Wedding anniversary, but
Ira whose wife passed away in May 1949. Our parents, George Davis and
Sarah Ellen's 50th anniversary was on Feb 4, 1919, also, 64th on Feb. 4,
1933, almost 66th. Married 1869. Elmer and Clara's was on Dec.31,1943,
50th. Wedding anniversary. John and Mary's 50th. Wedding anniversary was
on Sept.21,1948. Ralph and Ella Tilton -Austin's 50th. wedding
anniversary was on Nov. 22,1950. Their 60th. on Nov. 22,1690. Their
66th., on 22 Nov. 1964 (married on my birthday) at Collyer, Kansas. Bert
and I stood up with them. Bert and Viola celebrated their 50th. wedding
anniversary at Boone, Colo., on Sept. 20, 1965. William H. Curry and
Lillian O. Tilton Curry
celebrated their 50th. wedding anniversary on May 1, 1966 at the church
they were married in on April 30, 1916. Bert and Viola stood up with us.
Our nieces and nephews celebrated our 45th. anniversary in Legion Hall
here with pot luck dinner for relatives and friends with open house from
2 till 4. The folks oldest granddaughter, Florence Tilton and John Sparks
celebrated their 50th. anniversary on Dec. 31, 1963. Bert and Lillian
Tilton stood up with them. I was with them on their 50th. anniversary,
but Bert could not make it. Sarah Ellen Howerth Tilton passed away Dec.
8, 1934 at Collyer, Kansas. George Davis Tilton passed away April 22,
1938 at Collyer, Kansas. Ida May Tilton, Brown County, Indiana passed
away on Oct.9,1871. James Elmer Tilton passed away, Jan. 4,1951 at
Collyer, Kansas. John Lewis Tilton passed away, Aug. 27,1960 at Collyer,
Kansas. John's wife, May, passed away at Quinter Hospital on July 11,
1959. Elmer's wife, Clara passed away at Wakeeny Hospital on May 10,
1962. Ira's wife, Esther, passed away at Valparaiso, Indiana, May 29,
1949. Lillian's husband, William Curry passed away at Wakeeny Hospital on
May 28, 1966. All buried in Collyer cemetery but, Ida May and Esther.
The Tilton Collage in New Hampshire is supposed to be related to us, Ira
says the Tilton who used to print the wakeeny world was cousin by my Dad
and some relation. I think that's about all I know about the Tilton's.
The Austins in our family is spelled Austin and the Austens no relation
that we know of. If anyone wants to know more about the Tiltons , write
to Attorney Ira C Tilton in Valpraiso, Ind. as he has the history from
the time they hung on limb by the tail, ha! ha! Forgot to say the house
the folks lived in when they came to Trego County and there the three
youngest were born and raised and the oldest ones raised, was part sod
and part board front and dirt roof. (We had a floor). The yard was walled
up with big rocks and filled in so solid the older children used to have
their parties there. They built a new house back on a hill when I was 8
years old and built all out buildings higher up. We had lovely big shade
trees and fruit trees below where the old house was.

I also found a Cemetery Listing from the family (Union Cemetery) Trego County Kansas

George married Sarah Ellen Howerth, daughter of John W. Howerth and Elizabeth Amelia Bright, on 4 Feb 1869 in her parents home at Oak Ridge, Indiana. (Sarah Ellen Howerth was born on 9 Aug 1851 in Bellair Belmont Ohio, died on 8 Dec 1934 in Collyer Trego Co Kansas and was buried Collyer Cemetery.)