Family: Erastus D. Reynolds / Ruth Ann Bisbee (F57)
m. 28 Jun 1871
-
Male
Erastus D. Reynolds
Birth 28 Jun 1844 , , New York, USA 
Death 29 Jul 1884 Wattsburg, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA Burial Wattsburg Cemetery, Wattsburg, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA Marriage 28 Jun 1871 [1, 2, 3] Wattsburg, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA [1, 2, 3] Father Truman D. Reynolds | F7186 Group Sheet Mother Lydia Bisbee | F7186 Group Sheet
Female
Ruth Ann Bisbee
Birth 21 Jan 1838 Lebanon Town, Madison, New York, USA Death 2 Jun 1906 French Creek Town, Chautauqua, New York, USA Burial 4 Jun 1906 Wattsburg Cemetery, Wattsburg, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA Other Spouse John W. Reynolds | F7477 Marriage Abt 1860 , , New York, USA Father Joseph Cushman Bisbee | F28 Group Sheet Mother Sally Ann Morey | F28 Group Sheet
Female
+ Mary Jane Reynolds
Birth 29 Aug 1873 French Creek Town, Chautauqua, New York, USA Death 12 Apr 1961 Erie, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA Burial Wattsburg Cemetery, Wattsburg, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA Spouse Charles H. Gorndt | F7476 Marriage Abt 1895
Male
Frank L. Reynolds
Birth 28 Nov 1880 French Creek Town, Chautauqua, New York, USA Death 17 Feb 1949 Burial Wattsburg Cemetery, Wattsburg, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
-
Notes Married:
- An 1881 Atlas of Chautauqua County, NY shows a 50-acre parcel, with house, fronting on Old State Line Rd. belonging to Mrs. R. A. Reynolds.
-
Sources - [S42] Reynolds, Ruth A. Bisbee: Widow's Declaration (CWPF), (Washington, D. C.: National Archives).
- [S1457] Reynolds, Ruth A. Bisbee: Marriage, (Washington, D. C.: National Archives).
- [S43] Reynolds, Erastus D: CWPF, (Washington, D. C.: National Archives
Soldier's Pension Application No. 420 002
Soldier's Pension Certificate No. 330 497
Widow's Pension Application No. 319 872
Widow Certificate No. 223 608
Disabled son's Pension Application No. 861 333
Disabled son's Certificate No. 634 942).
Ruth Bisbee married John W. Reynolds about 1860 in Smyrna, Chenango, New York, by whom she had two normal, healthy children, Addison and Nellie. After John's death in 1866, Ruth moved to French Creek, Chautauqua County, New York, across the road from her father. In 1871 she married her first cousin, Erastus D. Reynolds, and had two children by him: Frank L. and Mary Jane Reynolds. Frank was severely retarded and his intellectual capacity never exceded that of a child, five to ten years old. In her will, Ruth directed that her son Addison care for his half-brother after her death. On 28 October 1907, Addison became guardian to Frank and collected a Helpless Child disability for him, stemming from his father's Civil War service. When Addison died in 1942, a trust company in Pittsburg was appointed gaurdian. Frank went to live with his sister Mary Jane Gorndt, who, in the opinion of Veteran's Administration Field Examiners, was of limited intelligence, and displayed signs of extreme nervousness. "She was a frail neurotic type of person." A neighbor had convinced Mary Jane that she should not accept any money from the government to avoid a lot of red tape and trouble. For years, she adamantly refused to take Frank for a Veteran's Administraion physical examination. She even went so far as to hire a lawyer to make the government stop paying Frank's monthly benefit. Frank's legal guardian, the trust company in Pittsburg, refused to allow his disability payments to be discontinued. The Veterans Administration found itself in the unusual position of fighting for Frank to keep his benefits against the wishes of his family. Frank was paid a Civil War disability pension up until he died in 1949.
- [S42] Reynolds, Ruth A. Bisbee: Widow's Declaration (CWPF), (Washington, D. C.: National Archives).