This week's prompt was "Random Number". Every ancestor was assigned a number. I asked Tina to pick one and she chose "26". "26" would be Carl Johan Anderson, who I've already written about, so, I flipped the number to "62" and that brings us to Madison Taylor Truman, grandfather of Mildred Bellinger Strand.
Madison Taylor Truman was born approximately September 20, 1849 in Hillsdale County, Michigan to Henry and Lydia Wilson Truman. Henry was originally from New York and made his way to Michigan via Ohio. Madison was the fourth child and third son born to Henry and Lydia. One more daughter was born to Henry and Lydia before Lydia died in November 1859 of inflammation of the lungs. She was 41 years old, and Madison was only 10.
Madison's father, Henry, was active in Republican Party politics and was a farmer who participated in local fairs. I've found newspaper articles mentioning Henry's name in regard to local Hillsdale politics and entering bulls in local fairs for competition. Even placing second and third.
On April 22, 1869 Madison married Harriet Mabbs, of the Mabbs family recently of London, England. Like his father, Madison also farmed for a living. Their first child, William Henry, was born March 18, 1870. Three daughters followed, Isabel in 1872 and Elnora on March 2, 1873. Mary was born June 16, 1877.
Madison's father, Henry, died in February 1880. We know that Madison and Harriet's next child, son Judson, was born May 28, 1880, in Little Rock, Arkansas. I have not been able to find out why, or when Madison and Harriet made the decision to move to Arkansas. I don't know if it's connected to his father's death or not. Henry's will states that he gave Madison twenty acres of land before his death as part of Madison's inheritance. Either way, Madison and Harriet live in and around Little Rock, Arkansas. Judson is the infamous Uncle Judson that Mildred's brother Ray spent a summer searching for in Oregon and Washington. Madison is listed in the 1880 United States Federal Census as living in Totten, Arkansas and profession is Farmer.
I haven't been able to find any records of Madison's life in Arkansas. For whatever reason, Madison and Harriet make the decision to move back to Ransom, Michigan. Madison dies on January 2, 1884. I haven't been able to find a cause of death either. Madison was only 34 years old. Elnora Truman was 10 years old. The same age her father was when he lost his mother. Elnora would go on to marry Charlie Bellinger and raise Mildred Bellinger.
Madison Taylor Truman is something of a mystery. He's been a difficult man to find information on. I've found many articles in the newspapers mentioning his father, but none about him. I know he may have gone by the name Elwin, and Judson's middle name is even Elwin. I haven't found any pictures of him either.
How Madison fits into the family tree:
Madison Taylor Truman is the father of
Elnora Truman, the mother of
Mildred Bellinger, the mother of
Howard, Viola, Marylaine, Yvonne, Milton, Joyce, Fred
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| 1850 census. First mention of Madison Truman |
