Notes for: Anna Jane Bodine

Here are some photos from the Mahwah Museum in Mahwah, Bergen Co., NJ.

The first is Anna Jane Bodine when she was younger. I am only guessing from her apparent age, but I'd say she is about 18 years old. So maybe this was taken around 1885.

Anna Bodine

This next one is of her and her husband John Franklin Bodine. Just guessing, but maybe this was taken around the time they married in 1893.

Anna Bodine and John Franklin Young

And this last one is of Anna (Bodine) Young and her children. Guessing that maybe the youngest child is around six or seven, then maybe this was taken about 1911-1912.

Ann Bodine


Anna is Deborah Thomas' great-grandmother. Her email is Swanilda73 at aol.com. Deborah sent me the photo below of Anna Jane (Bodine) Young and family:

Ann Bodine

From left are John, Anna, Violet, Alta, Mildred, Frank, and Freda. Violet's nickname was "Prep." It was short for "precious one."

And here are a couple of photos of Anna's tombstone from Evergreen Cemetery in Tallman, NY. Deborah Thomas also sent these:

Tombstone of Ann (Bodine) Young

Tombstones of J. Frank and Ann (Bodine) Young

The two graves above by the tree are J. Frank and Anna (Bodine) Young.

From: Swanilda73 at aol.com
Sent: Sun, January 12, 2003
Subject: John Vought Bodine

Hi Dave,
I haven't contacted you for a while. I just received some information on my Van Houten line today and with it was some information on John Vought Bodine.

As you know, Anna Jane Bodine married John Franklin Young. Their oldest child was Violet Ruth Young (my grandmother). Violet married Herman Chester "Chet" Van Houten. Chet was the son of Glode Requa Van Houten and Ida May Straut. Glode was the son of Peter Van Houten and Adaline Sherwood. Anyway, I have been in contact with Rich Van Houten, who has his gedcom posted on ancestry.com. Rich has done extensive research on the Van Houten families. Rich just sent me the 1920 census for Ramapo, Rockland Co., NY. His reason for sending it was that Glode Van Houten's family is listed. I was very happy to notice that just below Glode's family, and living right next door was John Vought Bodine. I knew that John's father was originally from NJ. Bergen Co., NJ and Rockland Co., NY border each other, so I have many ancestors from both counties. I always wondered why the Bodines moved from the NY/NJ area to PA and then back again. Even my father didn't know how his parents met. Now, I have a guess. The census lists John Vought Bodine as head of household, age 77, widowed. Living with him were his son, William D. Bodine, age 39, widowed, and his grandaughter, Violet Ruth Young, age 26, single. My guess is that Violet went to live with them in order to cook and clean house for the two widowed gentlemen. Here, she met Chet who was living next door. They must have married the following year because my uncle was born in 1922. I have attached the census file to this email.

Also, after receiving this file from Rich, I revisited your website and was happy to find new editions. Thank you for all of your hard work. The name Ambrose Sharpless Bodine can probably be dropped as Anna Jane Bodine's brother. I never had any proof of this. I just remember seeing the name when I was a little girl. I haven't seen it again since. When I saw it, I was researching my mother's Sharpless line.

Best regards,
Deborah Thomas

From: Swanilda73 at aol.com
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003
Subject: Bodine family history

Dave,

Some time ago, I told you I remembered that my great-grandmother, Anna Jane Bodine, had a brother named Ambrose Sharpless Bodine. I remembered hearing this name in my youth. It stuck with me because the surname Bodine is from my paternal line, and the name Sharpless from my maternal line. I could never find anything to confirm his existence, however.

Yesterday, I came into possessions of some of my father's papers. There, I found a wonderful discovery. My father's "Young" cousin wrote him a letter. In it she sent a photo copy of a page in the Bodine family Bible. Here is what it says (spelling as is written):

John V. Bodine (handwritten above it is "Vought") was born October the twentieth in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fourty two.
Margaret H. (handwritten above it is "Hughes") Bodine formely Kern was born September 14th 1845.
Ambrose S. (handwritten above it is Sharpless) Bodine was born July 25th 1865.
Anna Jane Bodine was born May 10th 1867.
Peter Beckner Bodine was born November 7th 1869.
Emma Elizabeth Bodine was born Dec, 5th 1872.
Frank Manhardt Bodine was born May 19th 1878.
Catherine Sigmond (I'm not positive of this spelling) Bodine was born May 19th 1878.
William Diener Bodine was born February 23rd 1880.
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Also written on the front and back of this photocopy was a note from my father's cousin which reads, " I have our grandmother's wedding book and certificate. Inside were two folded up, frayed, torn and yellow with age pieces of paper. This page was evidently torn out of an old Bible, where they recorded births. The one I have circled is our grandmother {Anna Jane}. I think you will be more than interested in her older brother's name, Ambrose Sharpless. Our grandmother's Baptisimal Certificate was the other "worn out" piece of paper. It took place in Columbia, PA, May 8, 1870 by a Rev. D. Beckner, Pastor of Catawissa English Southern Church. You will notice that they used the minister's name Beckner for the middle name of their next child. Our grandmother's father, Rev. John Vought Bodine, was a minister and he married J. Frank Young and Anna J. Bodine. The only ones I remember clearly were Emma Elizabeth who we called Aunt Till, Catherine, who we called Aunt Cottie, and Uncle Will, the youngest. Cottie's twin died of a young age. Because Aunt Cottie and Uncle will lived together, I always thought they were the twins (until I found this piece of paper.)"
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Now, I would like to find out if Ambrose survived childhood. I also wonder how William's middle name was changed from Diener to Dallas in records.

Hope you find this helpful,
Deborah (D'Lee) Thomas

From Ronny Bodine:

From Airmont Lutheran Church, Rockland County, Marriage Records 1876-1938:
John Franklin Young of Tallmans and Anna Jane Bodine of Tallmans on 22 Feb 1893 At home big snow storm.

Burials in Evergreen Cemetery, Ramapo, Rockland County.
(Find A Grave Memorial # 7415038 & 7419708)
John Franklin Young 1871 - 1905 Anna J. Bodine His Wife 1867 - 1952

Children: Violet Ruth (6 April 1894), Alta May (2 Jan 1897).