COG 91st Edition - A Tribute to Women

Here is my Timeline for Catherine Shinkle Bolender
1783-1789    Three brothers and a sister are born to the family before Catherine
1 April 1790  Birth – Catherine Shinkle daughter of Hans Phillip Shinkle and Barbara Walderin Heidleberg twp, Lancaster co, PA
June 1792      Brother, John Jacob is born
20 Aug 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers, Maumee Ohio, in the Maumee river valley
1795             Family moved to Clermont/Brown co, Ohio “taking a flatboat at Pittsburg and landing a short distance below the present site of Higginsport. ” Shinkle Genealogy, p. 17
26 July 1795 Brother Peter is born at Slab Camp, later called Sterling, near New Hope Ohio Clermont co,Ohio
1796            Lived on the flatboat, “ready to cut loose in case of Indian trouble”. Shinkle Genealogy p. 17
Jan 1800     Sister Barbara is born
1800           Clermont county, Ohio is created, 3 years before Ohio is a state.
April 1803  Ohio statehood
2 Dec 1804 Sister Eve  is  born
June 1805   Father, Phillip Shinkle purchased 300 acres nears Feesburg from Phillip Buckner.
10 Jan 1811 Marriage to Henry Bolender.  Henry was an active Dunkard minister like his father Stephen Bolender in  Clermont co, Ohio
11 Oct 1811 First son Jacob is born Clermont co, Ohio
16 Dec 1811 New Madrid Earthquake – effects felt (in the red zone) as far as Clermont and Brown co, Ohio see this map.  To read and account click this link
16 July 1813   A son Jonas born Clermont co, Ohio
13 April 1816 A daughter Barbara is born in Clermont co, Ohio. She married Anthony Loranz in Lewiston, Fulton co, Il
Dec 1817       Brown county created from Clermont county
13 May 1818  A daughter Elizabeth is born Clermont co, Ohio
4 Feb 1820     A son Stephen is born, Clermont co, Ohio
June 1820 Census – 5 children Clermont co, Ohio
18 July 1822    A daughter Catherine is born Clermont co, Ohio
Jan 1823 Fulton co, Illinois created
25 Aug 1824    A son John is born Clermont co, Ohio
16 Sept 1826   A daughter Rebecca is born Clermont co, Ohio
5 Feb 1828     A daughter Lydia is born Clermont co, Ohio
24 Dec 1828   A son Eli is born Clermont co, Ohio
June 1830        Census – 10 children Clermont co, ohio
6 Mar 1833     A daughter Sarah is born Clermont co, Ohio
27 Feb 1837    A daughter Mary is born Clermont co, Ohio
Oct 1839         Travelled from Chilo, Ohio by steamboat for Illinois. Settled in Fulton co, IL. Shinkle Genealogy p. 47 Spoon river, Fulton co, IL
June 1840       Census – 9 children Fulton co, IL
June 1850       Census – 6 children still at home Fulton co, Il
13 Nov 1856  Husband, Henry Bolender died Lewistown, Fulton co, Il
June 1860       Census – living with son Eli and daughters Rebecca and Sarah A Fulton co, Il
8 April 1868   Died in Lewiston, Fulton co, IL Lewistown, Fulton co, Il

Biography of Catharine Shinkle Bolender

On 1 April 1790, Catherine Shinkle (Schenckel) was born to Hans Phillip Schenckel and his wife, Barbara Walderin, in Heidleburg township, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Catherine is my 3rd great grandmother and since her father Phillip Shinkle and the mother of her future husband, Margaret Shinkle, were siblings, she is also my 1st cousin 5 times removed. The premiere source for this family record is “The Shinkle Genealogy” by Louise J. Abbott and Charles L. Abbott, printed in 1897 in Cincinnati with numerous original records supporting the work.

When Catherine was about five years old, her family emigrated to the newly opened lands of the Virginia Military District in the Northwest Territory, travelling first by wagon to Pittsburg, traversing the Allegany mountains, then by the newly invented flatboat down the Ohio river, stopping just below present day Higginsport, Ohio. Our vision of Ohio now is not what Catharine and her family saw. The trip down the Ohio river was a slow, meandering float, with the river surrounded by “an overwhelming forest, so thick, so tall it surrounded a person” writes Brethren historian, Merle C. Rummel. Danger lurked in the forest; danger from hostile Indians, bear and the wilderness itself. Included in this exciting and daring adventure were her four brothers, ages 12, 10, 7 and 3, her sister, 8 and her parents. Her mother, Barbara was pregnant with another child who was born at Slab Camp, afterwards called Sterling, Ohio, 26 July 1795. It is probable that other members of the Shinkle and Bolender family travelled with them or followed in the next couple of years. Her future husband, Henry Bolender made the same trip with his family sometime in 1802.

According to The History of Clermont county, Ohio, “the family lived on the flatboat ready to cut loose, at any Indian trouble.”

Flat boat - Picture courtesy of  River to Rail website.

In the Battle of Fallen Timbers on 20 August 1794 the Native American Indian troops were defeated by General "Mad" Anthony Wayne's troops  but hostilities continued for several years making pioneer life dangerous. What a life that must have been though, especially for a child. Of course there would have been many chores to be done, there are always chores to be done, but the freedom to explore and enjoy the beauty of the land would be an experience no other generation would know.

Catherine’s father, Hans Phillip Shinkle purchased 300 acres of land from Phillip Buckner in 1805, near Feesburg, Ohio. Perhaps this land already had a dwelling to house his family of nine children, himself and his wife or perhaps he had been improving the land all the while and now was able to purchase it. The land had originally been opened as payment for Revolutionary War service but many veterans did not settle the land, they simply sold it.

On 10 January 1811, Catherine married Henry Bolender. Henry’s father, Stephen was a large land owner and had provided land to all his children including Henry. Also following in his father’s footsteps, Henry was a Dunkard minister which by extension made Catharine a devout member of the church. Almost exactly nine months after their marriage Catharine presented Henry with his first son, Jacob, born 11 Oct 1811. Just 2 months later, on 16 Dec 1811, the first of four massive earthquakes known as the New Madrid earthquakes hit the Ohio river valley, causing extensive to moderate damage from the bootheel of Missouri up to Cincinnati and into Kentucky. Without question Catherine experienced the earthquake which hit in the early hours of the morning. Imagine the shock and fear she must have felt trying to protect her newborn son but probably not knowing what was happening. The hardy, spirited members of this family may have thought, “this is just another obstacle to overcome, just another test by my God.” No family records detail damage done in the area, but the general descriptions from nearby areas are of chimneys crumbling, trees snapping, water spouts blowing up from the river and numerous other phenomena.

For the next 20 years, Catherine was a pioneer wife and mother, bearing 11 more children all except one, who lived to adulthood. The family appears on the 1820 and 1830 census for Clermont county, Ohio.

In October of 1839 Catherine once again embarked on the pioneer trail. She and her family along with Thomas Hayward, the son of her sister Elizabeth Shinkle Hayward travelled to an area known as the Military Tract in what is now Fulton county, Illinois. Catharine’s group went down the Ohio river by steamboat while the other group, which consisted of the families of Daniel Bolender, Elijah Demaris and Nathaniel Wood, 13 persons, went overland. From The Shinkle Genealogy, “The overland party, on approaching the mouth of Spoon River, Illinois, heard the sound of a steamboat bell, and proceeding in that direction, discovered their friends in the act of unloading their goods from the boat. The joyous greetings of the two parties, which had reached their destination on the same day, still live in the memory of survivors.”

Catherine and her family flourished in Fulton county. The children married. The grandchildren surely flocked around their grandmother eager to hear the many stories she had to tell and adventures she had to share. For twenty years, Catherine and Henry enjoyed the fruits of their labors, then in November of 1856, Henry died at the age of 68. Catharine lived with her son, Eli and several daughters until her death in 1868 at age 78.