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From the memory of Elvene Rasmussen Erwin, Cynthia's
granddaughter who became acquainted with her between 1904 and 1907,
she had two more children after the death of John Spears Erwin,
Willie and Rosie Babcock, bringing
her total to 8, although she was apparently either mother or stepmother
to a total of 15, because of her multiple marriages.
It is not clear whether or not Cynthia actually married a man named
Babcock, but it seems that Rosie was either given away or sold.
One family story says that she was sold for $300.
Apparently Cynthia was filled with remorse over the lost child, and
family stories indicate that she would go into the fields in back of the barn
and call for her daughter. This may
have been a factor in her declining mental state which eventually led to
hospitalization in the Rochester State Hospital on July 27, 1907.
A possible fourth husband is indicated by a land transfer that occurred
on March 25, 1889, and by the records in the Rochester State Hospital which give
her name as Cynthia Wilson, but I have been unable to uncover any other
information about a Mr. Wilson, or whether she was in fact ever married to same.
The record shows a deed from John and Mary (Erwin) Campbell to Cynthia
Wilson for 2 1/2 acres of land in Milton Township, Dodge County, Minnesota on
that date. This property was later
sold to Josiah Depuy, her brother. Cynthia
apparently lived with John and Mary for a time, before the summer of 1907, when
she was committed to the hospital. It
seems that she also lived for a time near my grandfather Benjamin's farm, for
several of my Aunts recall that "she lived in a shack over in the
woods", but it is not clear at what time in her life this occured.
Cynthia died at the Rochester State Hospital on March 30, 1909, of
organic heart disease, and is buried there.
The first son born to John Spears Erwin was George, his third child, born
in 1835, in Madrid, New York. George
married Amira Whitcomb on Christmas Day, 1854, but I have so far discovered
nothing at all about any children they may have had, although it is believed
that they had at least two. It is
known that George lived in Nebraska, perhaps near North Bend, and that he and
his brother William did correspond with one another.
On at least one occasion, in October of 1902, George came to Illinois to
visit William.
John's second son, born in 1838 in Ontario, Canada, was Henry.
Unfortunately, the only other information that I have about Henry is that
he lived in Leadville, Colorado. I
do not know for certain whether or not he married or when he died, but one
family source indicates that he had a son named Frank.
It is known that his brother Stephen lived in Golden, Colorado, and if
descendants of Stephen could be located, they might shed some light upon Henry's
life.
John's third son was William Sharp, born on October 14, 1842, in Caledonia, Illinois, and in William's case, much is known, thanks to his grandson Robert, who still lives in Boone County. Robert has done a great deal of research into his Erwin ancestry, and I am indebted to him for much of what follows.