Riley Case research

Today’s post is a summary of my research for Riley Case and his family. Riley is related to me through the Dodge line: he is Truman Dodge’s grandfather (Jane Case’s father).

Riley Case. I found town records for Barkhamsted, Connecticut, which were really helpful for information on Riley and his siblings and parents. I want to revisit them to look for more information about Riley’s own family later on. But they list his birth date as January 19, 1816. I also found his headstone on findagrave.com, which lists his birth as 1816 and his death as 1886. The text on findagrave suggests Riley’s death date is July 2, 1886, but I haven’t found a source to confirm that.

Mariah (Riley’s wife). I haven’t found her maiden name. But I did find her headstone on findagrave.com—it’s right next to Riley’s in the Baldwin Cemetery, and it says “Mariah 1818-1915.”

Mary A Case (Riley’s daughter). According to census records from 1850 and 1856, she was born in 1841 in Connecticut.

Jane Case (Riley’s daughter). Jane’s my direct ancestor, so I already had a good amount of information on her.

Joseph W Case (Riley’s son). I haven’t done much research on Joseph.

Truman Case (Riley’s son). It looks like Truman married a woman named Catharine, and I’m trying to solidify her maiden name and their children.

In the 1880 census, a Truman Case of the right age lives next door to Riley and Maria, and he is married to a Catharine (2 years older than him) who was born in West Virginia. Catharine’s last name isn’t listed.

There’s a birth record for A. C. Ben Case, born to Truman Case and Catherine H. Baker in 1882. Also on Truman Case: the Truman Case who lives near Riley and Mariah had no kids in 1880. In the Iowa 1885 census, Truman and Catherine have 2 kids (Mary G (4) and Ben (2)). So I think the birth record and census records match, suggesting Catherine’s maiden name is Baker.

Back to the 1880 census, the closest Baker family to the Cases are listed 3 pages earlier: John and Juliana Baker, age 45. Catharine may be their child or another relative.

Albert R. Case (Riley’s son). In 1880, Albert R Case and his wife Margaret (3 years younger, born in West Virginia) live next door to Riley and Maria. I found a marriage record of Albert R. Case to Margaret Nine, from February 7, 1875 in Jasper, Iowa. In the 1880 census, they have 2 children together: Henry (3) and Charles (1), both born in Iowa. Albert’s headstone in the Baldwin Cemetery lists his birth as May 30, 1855 and his death as Aug 6, 1895. I also found death records and headstone for Henry and Charles (both died young, within a few days of each other). Also in the cemetery is WmCase--I found a birth record for Wm Vernon Case born Jan 8, 1882 to Albert R and Margaret V. (I’m not sure what the V stands for, but the V initial is also on Henry and Charles’ headstones, so I believe it is the same woman.)

Eliza A Case (Riley’s daughter). Eliza shows up in the 1860 census, but then she passed away in 1863, when she was around 5 years old. (The middle initial “A” comes from her headstone.)

Questions I still have:

When did Riley and Mariah get married?

What is Mariah’s maiden name?

Is Riley’s death date July 2, 1886, as someone suggested on findagrave?

I’ve seen circumstantial evidence that Riley’s daughter Mary A Case may have married Daniel Gifford. Is that true? Is there a source to confirm it?

Is Truman really married to Carherine Baker?

All but 2 of the Case’s in the Baldwin cemetery are in this family, so I’m guessing these are also their relatives. How are they related? Hiram J Case. Maudie B Case.

Is there any more information about this family in the Connecticut Barkhamsted records ?