GEARISON, Arnola Geneva

Wilmer married GIVENS, Fern Ruth 1924, Madison County, Indiana; divorced 1938. Fern (daughter of GIVENS, Elmer Glenn and SISSON, Pearl Lee) was born 26 Nov 1907, Linwood, Madison County, Indiana; died Mar 1980, Franklin, Indiana. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

"The Givens had farms in Madison, Hamilton and Henry Counties. They moved to the family farm in Middletown, Henry County, Indiana, in 1918. It had 40 acres on both sides of the road. This would remain the family home until 1970 when the farm was sold after Elmer and Pearl died.

The home that the family moved into was only a few years old at the time and consisted of four bedrooms, a parlor, a living room, dining room and kitchen, with front and back porches and a cellar. It was not modern and thus did not have running water and electricity until many years later.

The farm was located 2-1/2 miles southeast of Middletown, Indiana and one-half mile south of the Miller Cemetery where Elmer and Pearl Givens are buried.

The three oldest children (Willis, Fern, Audrey) attended the one room Painter School, 1 mile north of the farm until 1920 when the school closed and then the children went to school in Middletown. The family were members of the Middletown Methodist Church and of the Republican Party" (Arthur Givens -unsigned Genealogy, credited to Arthur by his cousin, Stuart Givens.)

Elmer Givens was accustomed to driving the horse and wagon to Brown County to obtain Sorghum; until his death, John Givens came to dinner every Sunday (Kay Hinshaw Spang, granddaughter)
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Anderson Herald/Bulletin-Wednesday, July 16, 1969, p. 20 B, Column 1

Elmer G. Givens
?MIDDLETOWN ? Elmer Glen Givens, 88, retired farmer of this area, died Wednesday
evening in the Rolling Hills Nursing Home in Anderson after an illness of the past several years.
A native of Madison County, he was the son of John and Amanda Hersberger Givens. He was a member of the Middletown United Methodist Church. Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. Frank (Fern) Showers of Indianapolis, Mrs. Carl (Audrey) Hinshaw of New Castle and Mrs. Bert (Neva) Goul of Anderson; four sons, Willis Givens of Indianapolis, Rev. Arthur Givens of Culver, Hanson Givens of Rosemont, Minn., and Eugene Givens of New Castle; a brother, Dr. Willard E. Givens of Washington, D.C.; 20 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Ballard and Shirley Funeral Home, Middletown with the Rev. Morris Howell officiating. Enterment will be in the Miller Cemetery.

Elmer married SISSON, Pearl Lee 08 Feb 1903, M.E. Church, Pendleton, In by Rev. Lovelace. Pearl (daughter of SISSON, William Jr. and GRAHAM, Sarah Electa) was born 08 Feb 1884, Madison County, Indiana; died 20 Jun 1964, Ball Memorial Hospital, Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana; was buried 23 Jun 1964, Miller Cemetery, Middletown, Henry County, Indiana. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Anderson Herald/Bulletin ? Monday, June 22, 1964, P. 6

Mrs. Pearl Givens
?Middletown-Mrs. Pearl Lee Givens, 80, RR2, died Saturday morning at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie after a short illness. She and her husband, Elmer, had celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary this year.

Born Feb. 8, 1884, near Pendleton, Mrs. Givens was a member of the Middletown Methodist Church, the WSCS, and the Friendly Club of the church.

She is survived by her husband; four sons, Hanson Givens of Minneapolis, Minn., Willis Givens of Indianapolis, Eugene Givens of New Castle, and the Rev. Arthur Givens of Huntington; three daughters, Mrs. Bert Goul of Anderson, Mrs. Ruth Butrum of Indianapolis, and Mrs. Carl Hinshaw of New Castle; a brother, Vernie Widner of Anderson; a sister, Mrs. Ruby McClary of Pendleton; 21 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Middletown Methodist church. The Rev. C. Edwin McClaron will officiate and interment will be in the Miller Cemetery.

Friends are being received at the Ballard and Shirley Funeral Home. The body will be taken to the church one hour before the service.

Notes:

According to an unsigned genealogy obtained 3/7/2000, John and Amanda bought a 62 acre farm in Stony Creek Township in Madison County, Indiana. It remained in the family until after the death of his grandson (unnamed) in 1991. They were members of the Progressive Dunkard Church. (7/14/2002 - the Genealogy was begun by Arthur Givens after he retired as a minister. Information obtained from Stuart Givens, his nephew.)
*******

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Forkner, 1914. Page 437

John L. Givens. A resident of Madison County for sixty-five years, Mr. Givens represents the progressive rural citizenship of Stony Creek township, where he has a fine farm of sixty-two acres, with excellent improvements and a comfortable home for himself and family.
John L. Givens was born in Green Township, Madison County, November 30, 1848, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Shawl) Givens. Andrew Givens, the father, was born in the state of Michigan, came to Indiana and was married in Madison County, his wife being a native of this state. He continued to reside in Madison County until his death in 1854. He and his wife were the parents of 3 children, the other two being N.D. Givens, of Indianapolis; and Julius Givens, who is connected with the street railway system in St. Louis.
Mr. John L. Givens was reared in Green township until he reached his majority, and as a boy attended the district school near his home. Green township, while he was growing up, still presented almost an expanse of wilderness, and residents were still engaged in the hard labor of clearing and grubbing and planting the first crops in the hard won fields. That was the training ground for his early life. He was married in Green township to Amanda Heshberger (sic), and their happy married life continued until 1909 when Mrs. Givens died. She was reared in Green and Stony Creek
townships and received her education in the public schools. The four sons born to their marriage are all living in 1913, namely: Horace, who is married and a resident of Stony Creek township; Elmer, who graduated from common schools and is married and lives in Hamilton county; Willard, who graduated from the Lapel High School and in 1913 from the University of Indiana, and is now a principal of a graded school in Noblesville, this state; Asa, who finished the course in common schools, and at the present time is in Indianapolis. Mr. Givens and family are members of the Progressive Dunkard Church. In politics he has always been a regular supporter of the Republican
party up to the campaign of 1912 in which he voted the Progressive ticket.

John married HERSBERGER, Amanda 31 Oct 1875, M.E. Church, Pendleton, In by Rev. Pierce. Amanda (daughter of HERSBERGER, John William and NORRIS, Sarah Ann) was born 23 Jul 1847, Jefferson, Maryland; died 19 Feb 1910; was buried East Grove Lawn Cemetery, Pendleton, Indiana. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Amanda made the trip from Jefferson, Maryland to Pendleton, Indiana in a covered wagon. This trip took 6 weeks. (Oral History - as told by Willard Givens, her son, to Stuart Givens, to this writer on 7/14/2002)

Notes:

Lapel History says that William and Eva built the fourth house in Lapel, located on Pendleton Avenue, one block east of Main Street.
source- Keith Sisson via email.

William married GRAHAM, Sarah Electa Nov 1879, Madison County, Indiana. Sarah (daughter of GRAHAM, Henry and SEARS, Mary Jane) was born 12 Jun 1861, Stony Creek Township, Madison County, Indiana; died 30 Aug 1938, Pendleton, Madison, Indiana, USA; was buried 01 Sep 1938, Grove Lawn Cemetery, Pendleton, Ind.. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

When William Sisson died in 1887, Sarah had 3 small children and a farm to take care of. Oliver P. Widener, William's nephew, came and worked as a farm hand. In 1888, Oliver and Sarah were married and they continued to live on the farm.
At the death of Oliver P. Widener, his son, Vernie O. Widener, purchased the farm from the estate and it is now (2000) owned by Oliver's grandson, Vernie Widener.
The farm next to the the William Sisson/Oliver Widener farm was owned by George N. Sisson, William's brother and later by Mrs. Vernie O. (Elva) Widener. An adjoining farm was owned by John Sisson, another of William's brothers.
(Information provided by Lydia Fadely, daughter of Elva and Vernie O. Widener, 4/12/2000)