Phoebe (Binnard) (Kelley) Johnston, 1870-1950
Phoebe5 Binnard (Bendet4, Mosiek3, Jacob2, Lewin1), was born 4 January 1869 in Rochester, New York, according to her death certificate.[1] Her birthdate is given as 4 January 1870 on her grave marker.[2] The year 1870 is more likely, as she is listed as six months old on the 1870 census, taken 1 August of that year.[3] As a child she lived with her family in Rochester and Buffalo, where her parents were makers of hoop skirts.[4] They lived briefly in Detroit[5] and Chicago[6] before moving west to Elk City, Idaho,[7] then to Turner, Oregon,[8] and finally Colfax, Washington.[9] She attended school through the eighth grade.[10]
Phoebe met Matthew B. Kelley, a lawyer who was born about 1860 in Massachusetts.[11] Little more is known about him. He could be the Mathew B. Kelley, age 21, born Massachusetts, parents born Ireland, who appears on the 1880 census of Le Mars, Plymouth County, Iowa. He was working there as a clerk in the sheriff’s office.[12] He may also be the Matt Baldwin Kelly, age 29, born in Massachusetts, who is listed on a voters’ register in San Francisco in 1888.[13] Matthew was in Washington by 1892, when he was one of the delegates from Whitman County attending the Washington state Democratic convention.[14] In the same year he and two other lawyers represented client John Bell in an appeal before the Washington Supreme Court.[15] In 1893 he is mentioned in a newspaper article as an attorney present when Ed Hill, an escaped murderer, was captured and returned to Colfax.[16] In 1906 there was a Matthew Kelley who was a delegate to the Washington Democratic convention. He represented the third ward in Olympia.[17] Phoebe and Matt were married at Spokane on 10 November 1892 by C.F. Backus, Justice of the Peace.[18] They had one child, James Bennett Kelley, who was born 17 July 1893 in Colfax[19] and died 29 October 1895.[20] He is buried in the cemetery at Colfax.[21] Most likely Phoebe and Matthew were divorced by 1900. On the census for that year she is listed by her maiden name, living with her parents in Colfax. On the form her marital status appears to be married, overwritten by the word widowed.[22] In early 1901 Phoebe and her sister Carrie were stricken with typhoid and hospitalized. The newspaper reported that the fever had “left them in such a condition that surgical operations were necessary. These were performed Monday, quite successfully, by Drs. Coffey, Johnston, Stuht and Benson.”[23] Both sisters recovered, although Carrie died from peritonitis three years later.[24] On 15 January 1902 Phoebe married Omar Monroe Johnston.[25] The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev. Edgar, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, at the residence of M.A. Rose, a jeweler and Omar’s employer.[26] Rose’s shop was later located in the Binnard Block, built by Phoebe’s father.[27] Omar was born 6 March 1871[28] at Monmouth, Oregon,[29] the son of R. M. and C.A. (Tetherow) Johnston.[30] The 1900 census shows Richard M. and Cynthia A. Johnson [sic] living in Colfax, where Richard ran a meat market and Omer [sic], still residing with his parents, was a watch maker.[31] Omar and Phoebe honeymooned in Portland, Oregon.[32] The next year, on 22 September 1903, twin daughters were born to them at Colfax.[33] Omar continued in the jewelry business and in 1906 took a course in engraving in Seattle.[34] About 1914 he purchased the store from his employer, M.A. Rose, and continued running it until his death.[35] In his last years Omar was not well. He suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized in 1925. On 30 January 1928, after closing his store, he was stricken again and died at his home later that evening.[36] He is buried in the cemetery at Colfax.[37] After his death Phoebe sold the jewelry business to Harold Truax[38] and moved to Yakima, Washington, where she resided with her daughters, who were teaching school.[39] She lived with her daughter Julia in Seattle in 1934[40] but by 1940 had moved with Julia and her family to Spokane.[41] She died 23 December 1950 at Spokane[42] and is buried in the Fairmont Cemetery there.[43] Child of Matthew and Phoebe (Binnard) Kelley: 1. James Bennett Kelley, born 17 July 1893, Colfax, Whitman County, Washington;[44] died 29 October 1895[45] Children of Omar and Phoebe (Binnard) Johnston: 1. Arminta B. “Toto” Johnston, born 23 September 1903, Colfax, Whitman County, Washington;[46] married Harry Schwartz;[47] died 24 June 1976, Seattle, King County, Washington[48] 2. Julia “Tiny” Johnston, born 23 September 1903, Colfax;[49] married Irving Gelb;[50] died 17 August, 1976, Spokane[51] _________________________ [1] Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960, Death Certificates Thurston—Benton thru Pierce-Spokane (20251-22000) Family History Library microfilm 2032976, Phoebe Binnard Johnston, 1950, no. 21143. [2] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database entry (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 November 2013), entry for Omar M. Johnston, Memorial 64566489, created by NW Mountain Man, Records of Colfax Cemetery, Colfax, Washington. [3] 1870 U.S. census, 14th Ward, Rochester, Monroe County, New York, p. 70, entry for Phebe in household of Benard Bonard; dwelling 561, family 593, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 July 2012); Family History Library Film: 552469. [4] Buffalo City Directory (Buffalo, N.Y.: Warren, Johnson & Co.), 1872: 249; (1873), 251; (1874), 251. [5] J. W. Weeks & Co.'s Annual Directory of Detroit for 1875-76 (Detroit: J.W. Weeks & Co., 1875), p. 161. The directory has a listing for Phoebe’s father, Bennett. [6] "Died," Colfax Gazette (Colfax, Wash.), 3 June 1904, p. 5. The obituary of Phoebe’s sister, Carrie, states that she was born in Chicago in 1876. [7] National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971; Roll #: 26; Archive Publication #: M841, entry for Bennett Binnard, Elk City, Idaho Territory, 1876. [8] 1880 U.S. census, Turner, Marion County, Oregon, p. 3, dwelling house 5, family 5, entry for Phoebe, daughter, in household of Matilda Binnard; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 April 2012); Family History Film 1255082. [9] 1880 U.S. census, City of Colfax, Whitman County, Washington Territory, p. 8, dwelling house 90, family 92, entry for Phoebe in household of Bennett Binnard; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 July 2012); Family History Film 1255398. [10] 1940 U.S. Census, block nos. 198-199, Spokane, Spokane County, Washington, enumeration district 41-78B, sheet 6A, entry for Phoebe Johnston, mother-in-law, in household of Irving Gelb, household 148; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 July 2012); NARA microfilm T627, roll 4387. [11] Ancestry.com. Washington, Births, 1883-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010, entry for James Bennett Kelley, Colfax, 1893. Ancestry incorrectly indexes the year of birth as 1894. The certificate gives the name, age, birthplace, and profession of the father, Matt. B. Kelley. [12] 1880 U.S. census, LeMars, Plymouth County, Iowa, enumeration district 174, p. 43, dwelling 306, family 306, entry for Matthew B. Kelley in household of William M. Fosket; ; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 July 2012); Family History Library microfilm 1254359. [13] “California, Great Registers, 1866-1910,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VTXQ-GX1 : accessed 19 May 2013), Matt Baldwin Kelly, 1888. [14] “List of Delegates,” Morning Olympian (Olympia, Washington), 20 August 1892, p. [1]. [15] Eugene G. Kreider, Reports of Cases Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Washington Containing Decisions Rendered from March 1 to October 3, 1892, Inclusive. Volume IV (San Francisco: Bancroft-Whitney Co., 1893), 743. [16] “Behind the Bars,” Pullman Herald (Pullman, Washington), 31 March 1893, p. [1]. [17] “Delegates are Chosen,” Morning Olympian (Olympia, Washington), 14 September 1906, p. [1]. [18] “Washington, County Records, 1803-2009,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-23400-109022-4?cc=1910364&wc-MTTX-DPD:180933901,185618701 : accessed 12 Apr 2014), Spokane > Marriage certificates 1891-1893 volume 1, page 223, Matt B. Kelley and Phoebe Binnard, 1892; citing State Archives, Puget Sound Regional Branch, Bellevue. [19] Ancestry.com. Washington, Births, 1883-1935, entry for James Bennett Kelley, Colfax, 1893. Ancestry incorrectly indexes the year of birth as 1894. [20] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database entry (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 November 2013), entry for James B. Kelley, Memorial 109733432, created by Kerry Moser, Records of Colfax Cemetery, Colfax, Washington. [21] Ibid. [22] 1900 U.S. census, Precinct No. 36, Colfax City, Whitman County, Washington, enumeration district 95, sheet 12B, dwelling 250, family 251, entry for Phebe, daughter, in household of Ben B. Binnard; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 July 2012); Family History Library microfilm 1241753. [23] "Typhoid Fever," Colfax Gazette (Colfax, Wash.), 4 January 1901, p. 2. [24] "Died," Colfax Gazette (Colfax, Wash.), 3 June 1904, p. 5. [25] Ancestry.com. Washington, Marriage Records, 1865-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012, Omar M. Johnston and Phebe M. Binnard, Colfax, 1902. [26] “Colfax,” Seattle Daily Times, 18 January 1902, magazine section, p. 7. [27] “M.A. Rose, Jeweler,” Colfax Gazette, 22 February 1907, p. [1]. This is the earliest advertisement found giving the store’s location in the Binnard Block. [28] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database entry (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 November 2013), entry for Omar M. Johnston, Memorial 64566489, created by NW Mountain Man, Records of Colfax Cemetery, Colfax, Washington. [29] Ancestry.com. Washington, Marriage Records, 1865-2004, Omar M. Johnston and Phebe M. Binnard, Colfax, 1902. [30] Ibid. [31] 1900 U.S. census, Precinct No. 53, Colfax City, Whitman County, Washington, enumeration district 95, sheet 18A, entry for Richard M. Johnson [sic], dwelling 377, family 378; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 July 2012); Family History Library microfilm 1241753. [32] “Personal Mention,” Colfax Gazette (Colfax, Wash.), 14 February 1902, p. 2. [33] “Born,” Colfax Gazette, 25 September 1903, p. 2. [34] “Personal Mention,” Colfax Gazette, 7 September 1906, p. [2]. [35] “Omar M. Johnston,” Morning Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), 31 January 1928, p. 14. [36] Photocopy of an index card summarizing the obituary Omar M. Johnston, citing Colfax Commoner, 3 June 1928. Source of the card is unknown. [37] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database entry (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 November 2013), entry for Omar M. Johnston, Memorial 64566489, created by NW Mountain Man, Records of Colfax Cemetery, Colfax, Washington. [38] Photocopy of an index card summarizing the obituary of Omar M. Johnston. [39] Polk’s Yakima (Washington) City and County Directory, 1930 (Seattle, Washington: R.L. Polk & Co., 1930), 198-199. [40] Ibid (1934), 788-789. [41] 1940 U.S. Census, block nos. 198-199, Spokane, Spokane County, Washington, enumeration district 41-78B, sheet 6A, entry for Phoebe Johnston, mother-in-law, in household of Irving Gelb, household 148; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 July 2012); NARA microfilm T627, roll 4387. [42] Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960, Death Certificates, Phoebe Binnard Johnston, 1950, no. 21143. [43] Ibid. [44] Ancestry.com. Washington, Births, 1883-1935, entry for James Bennett Kelley, Colfax, 1893. Ancestry incorrectly indexes the year of birth as 1894. [45] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, James B. Kelley. [46] “Born,” Colfax Gazette, 25 September 1903, p. 2. [47] Ancestry.com. Washington, Marriage Records, 1865-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012, Harry Schwartz and Arminta B. Johnston, 1932, King County. [48] Ancestry.com. Washington Death Index, 1940-1996 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002, Arminta B. Schwartz, 24 June 1976, Seattle. [49] “Born,” Colfax Gazette, 25 September 1903, p. 2. [50] Ancestry.com. Washington, Marriage Records, 1865-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012, Julia B. Johnston and Irving Gelb, 1935, King County. [51] Ancestry.com. Washington Death Index, 1940-1996 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002, Julia B. Gelb, 17 August 1976, Spokane. |