Joseph, [corrected from James] a son of William and Caty Haydon Blackerby, was born in Northumberland Co., VA on Apr. 17, 1806. He married Cassandra Coffey, the eldest child of Nebuzaradan and Elizabeth Easley Coffey on Jan. 1, 1834 in Pike Co., IL.
Nebuzaradan Coffey was a native of Wilkes Co., NC, born there on Aug. 29, 1789 to Joel and Martha Stepp Coffey. He married Elizabeth on Sep. 13, 1810 in KY. She was born in Cumberland Co., KY on Aug. 15, 1790 to William and Sarah Ann Lester Easley. The family left KY and moved to IL in 1831 where they remained until departing for Oregon in 1847. Their children were Cassandra, Martha, Thomas C., Mary, Sarah, Catherine Jane, Sidney J., German J., Elizabeth, Denton D., and Louisa.
Cassandra was born on Aug. 23, 1811 in Pilot Knob, KY and died in Marion Co., OR on Jan. 18, 1885 in Silverton, Marion Co., OR. She is buried at the Aumsville cemetery in Marion Co.
She and Joseph Blackerby had at least six children, the first three sons, Thomas, William and Sidney were born in Pike Co. Their fourth child, Marquis de Lafayette Blackerby was born in the Oregon Territory on Sep. 20, 1848 and died in Marion Co. at age 5 on Jan. 3, 1854. After this child came Elza M., born in 1851 and, Arthur Franklin, born 1853. Both were born near Silverton in Marion Co. where the family patented land on Drift Creek, southwest of Silverton.
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| Asterisk marks approximate location of first Blackerby patent and then east for 600+ acres |
I have not found the Blackerby family in the 1860 OR federal census. They first appeared in 1850 in Silverton, Marion Co. when Joseph was 47 years old and Cassandra was 40. Children still at home were William, age 16; Thomas, age 14; Sidney, age 7 and Marquis, age 2. David and John T. Porter, age 3 and 4 respectively, were also in the household.¹, ³ She and Joseph next appear in the 1870 census in Silverton, Marion Co. when Joseph was 64 and Casandra was 59. Children still at home were Elza, age 19 and Frank, age 15.
Eldest child, Thomas Richard Blackerby was born May 20, 1836 in Pike Co. and died in Silverton, OR on Feb. 25, 1906. He married Mary E. Allen on Mar. 4, 1866 in Marion Co. Mary was born Oct. 10, 1843 in IL and died in Silverton on Oct. 27, 1918. Both are buried at the Silverton Cemetery. Their children were Grace, born 1867 and Pearl, a son, born 1869. Grace married William Lloyd Jones, a native of Wales, UK, c1892. He died in 19333 and she in 1934. both buried at Fern Hill cemetery in Aberdeen, Grays Harbor Co., WA. Pearl married Stella E. Bosler. He died in 1949, she in 1961. Both are buried at Silverton.
The second child, also a son, was J. William C. Blackerby, born 1834 in Pike Co. He married Saprhonia J. Sears on Sep. 10, 1864 in Marion Co. J. William is thought to have died on May 14, 1867 somewhere in central Oregon. Nothing else of this family is known by me of this family.
Sidney German Blackerby, third born, also in Pike Co., came along on Oct. 6, 1843. He married Margaret Adaline Wilcox on Jul. 23, 1863 in Marion Co. Margaret was born c1846 in KY. Their children were William; O. Florence; Levia; Ada Lora; Howard; Thomas Roy and Jannie C. Sidney died Apr. 29,1910 and was buried in Burns, Harney Co., OR at the Burns IOOF cemetery where Margaret is also likely buried.
Following Marquis was Elza M., born Jan. 18, 1851 at Silverton. He and Mary Frances Johnson Clymer were married on Nov. 6, 1878 in Marion Co. She was a daughter of Henry Vance Clymer and Mary Layman Johnson, born 1856 in Marion Co. Elza died on Oct. 13, 1926 in Multnomah Co., OR and was buried at Silverton in the Warren cemetery. Mary died Dec. 9, 1879 and is also thought to be buried at Warren.²
The last known child was Dr. Arthur Franklin Blackerby, born Jun. 30, 1853 in Marion Co., died in Silverton on Jan. 19, 1934. He married Sophia Maria Gustavsen, a native of Finland, born there in Dec., 1873. The marriage took place in Clatsop Co., OR on Jan. 8, 1895. Sophia died in Multnomah Co. on Apr. 20, 1962. Children from this marriage were daughters Sana Cassandra "Cassie," born in 1895 and Meva F., born 1899.
Dr. Blackerby's first wife was Jennie Stanton to whom he was married on Nov. 12, 1879. They appeared in the 1880 census at Silverton. She died on Jul. 9, 1883, perhaps in childbirth, and was buried at Miller cemetery in Silverton. There are no known children.
Dr. Blackerby was buried at the Silverton cemetery. Sophia was buried at Portland Memorial.
Footnotes:
¹ Cassandra's sister, Catherine Jane married Stephen Porter in Pike Co. in 1844. Catherine died in 1850 and the two Porter children were hers. Her first child was Nancy Louisa Porter, born c1845 in IL but she was not mentioned in the census record.
² I have not found a Warren cemetery in Marion Co. It appears that the cemetery name has sometime in the past been renamed Mount Hope. See http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/marion/cemeteries/waldohill.txt
³ See William Porter's 1848 Trail Diary at http://www.oregonpioneers.com/porter.htm
