Notes for: Josephine ("Josie") Owen

Josephine is Margaret's daughter through her second husband Joseph Newton Owen. Josephine married a James Davis. We don't have any other info on him. I think she is the one mentioned in Henry Eareckson's obituary as his daughter "Mrs. J. Eareckson." He would have been the only father she knew since her actual father would have died when she was just an infant.

From family lore, it appears that James died during or around the time of the great San Francisco earthquake. There are several men named James Davis in cemeteries in Colma, San Mateo Co., CA who died in 1903 or 1908 who could be the husband of Josephine Owen. It would just be a guess as to which one of them - if it is even one of those.

And there is a James Gilliard Davis, born in 1838, who died on May 4, 1906 who is buried in the Sacramento City Cemetery. It seems like he would be a little old to be married to Josephine, though. His death on May 4, 1906 is a couple of weeks after the big earthquake in San Francisco. He was from Haywood County, TN. He does appear to have had a family. His son was a James H. "Jim" Davis, born on January 28, 1870 and died on June 17, 1943. He is also buried in this cemetery. He does NOT appear to have had a family. Maybe his son was Josephine's husband and it was actually his father who was injured in and/or died right after the earthquake.

There are also some men named James Davis in the cemeteries in Garland Co., Arkansas. That is where Florence ended up marrying and living. Margaret (Bodine) Earickson moved to Garland County, AR sometime between 1915 and 1920 to live with her son Edgar Slaten. Florence must have gone to Garland County with Margaret. We don't know what happened to Josephine after she is mentioned in the 1910 Census. She either died before 1920 or she married someone else and has a different last name we don't know now.

There is a Josephine Davis (b. Oct. 15, 1880, d. June 18, 1966) buried in the San Francisco National Cemetery with her husband Frank L. Davis (1877-1939). Not sure if that would be her, though. Just a wild guess.

From: Ronny Bodine
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022
Subject: Re: Margaret Jane Bodine

...I did find that the Josephine Davis, age 24, in 1910, living with Margaret as her daughter, was named Josephine Owen in the social security records of her daughter Florence and the father was James Davis. With regard to Davis being killed in the SF Earthquake, there is no Davis listed in the official casualty list and no James Davis who died in California in April 1906. Besides, Margaret was married to Henry Earickson from 1870 to 1907 when he died. Daughter Josephine was born in 1878 so how the name Owen factors in am not sure.

[Note from Dave: Ronny later found the connection with Joseph Newton Owen.]

There is no death in Arkansas of a Margaret/Maggie Earickson or any Margaret or Maggie who died in 1935. If she married married Owen after 1907, she would have been buried as Margaret Owen.

...

From: Belinda Rinehart
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022
Subject: Re: Margaret Jane Bodine

Hello Dave!

Thank you for getting back to me. I don't have a lot of hard facts to share, just what I've learned from my father and his siblings:
.....She somehow met James Clinton Slaten during his service in the Civil War
.....He volunteered when the war broke out and served in Company E, 3rd Illinois Cavalry
.....According to my aunts, they married "much against her family's wishes". So, she was estranged from them
.....Her family owned slaves, but freed them sometime during the war
.....She had siblings, including at least one brother
.....She and James Clinton Slaten had three children:
..........Laura: Died on the table during an operation to remove gall stones. She was in her 20s
..........Edgar Sherman Slaten: My grandfather
..........Walter: Died in childhood, around age 4
.....Around 1874-1875 she and James Clinton Slaten divorced. According to my aunts, she found him "impossible to live with", and "she couldn't go home to her family because she'd married a damn Yankee!"
.....She traveled by train to San Francisco to begin a new life. There, she opened a boarding house and eventually owned several properties
.....She met and married a Mr. Owens, first name Harry I believe. He died during the great San Francisco earthquake when a pole fell on him.
.....At some point, she met and married a Mr. Erickson. My father and his siblings knew her as Grandma Erickson
.....She eventually ended up in the Hot Springs area in Arkansas. My dad grew up near Crystal Springs, so I can't be sure where she lived. I believe she is buried in or around Hot Springs.

I'll look into my family information and get back to you with whatever hard data I have. It isn't much but may be of use to slot her into the Bodine family tree.

Belinda

From: Belinda Rinehart
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2022
Subject: Re: Margaret Jane Bodine

Hi Dave,

You're right! I was wrong about Josephine, Florence and the Penningtons being blood relatives! Also, I had it wrong as to whose husband was killed in the San Francisco earthquake. I revisited notes my Aunt Irene, Dad and Uncle Richard jotted down for me shortly before Aunt Irene passed in the early 1980s. They all knew Margaret Jane Bodine, Josephine and, of course, the Penningtons. I'm going to use bullet points to make this easier to follow.

.....

.....Divorced James Clinton Slaton (b. April 15, 1842, d. October 1, 1909) when Edgar Sherman Slaten was 8 years old - so 1875. My Aunt Annabel said she left James because she found him 'impossible to live with'. Interesting sidebar is that he married the housekeeper Minerva Jennie Davis on April 15, 1876. Given the reason for divorce and the short turn time on his marriage to Minerva, I suspect there may have been some hanky panky going on.
.....Travelled by train with Edgar Sherman to San Francisco.
.....The family has no idea if Walter or Laura was with them. I suspect that Walter may have already passed away by this time, but it's strictly conjecture given his young age at death)
.....Edgar remembered looking out the window and seeing Indians on horseback riding alongside harassing the train. (I imagine that really would make a big impression on an 8 yr old boy!!)
.....At some point Margaret married Harry Owens
..........They had a daughter named Josephine (she went by Josie)
..........At some point Margaret moved with her family to New York City.
..........No idea when they married
..........Edgar Sherman Slaten was living in New York City when he was 19 years old, so about 1886. For a while, he drove a horse-drawn street car
..........No idea if this is before or after she married Harry Owens
..........No idea how many or which of her children with her

.....At some point Margaret married a Mr. Earickson.
..........My Dad and his siblings always pronounce the EAR part of Earickson as ear
..........No idea if this was before or after she moved to New York City
..........No idea when they married
..........At some point, Margaret moved to the Hot Springs Arkansas area and lived there until her death in 1935.
..........Ironically, James Clinton Slaten also lived there when he passed
..........No idea if they were in touch
..........No idea if Edgar Sherman Slaten lived in the area before or after Margaret or James moved into the area
..........James served in the Civil War in Company E, 3rd Illinois Cavalry. The history of the unit shows they spent a fair amount of time in southern Missouri and Arkansas. I've always wondered if this influenced his decision to live there

Josephine Owens married Mr. Davis
.....No idea when
.....Mr. Davis was killed in 1906 when a light pole fell on him during the San Francisco earthquake
.....Josephine and Mr. Davis had a daughter named Florence

Florence Davis married Rube Pennington
.....No idea when
.....They lived on Pennington Road in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The road is named for their family
.....They had nine children, I don't have any dates of birth or death, marriages, etc.
..........Lawrence
..........Cecil
..........Elouise
..........Jessilee
..........Iris
..........Gene
..........Lon
..........Jerry
..........Lorene

.....

I found a poor-quality photocopy of a photo of Margaret and Florence. There's also a photocopy of a photo of Edgar Sherman Slaten with a handwritten note on the bottom of the page reading " Written on the back of the above - Edgar Sherman Slaten (age 22) son of James (Jim) Slaten (Illinois) and Marguerite Jane Beaudine (Tenn.) Taken about 1889 in New York City." Interesting spelling of Margaret's first name.

I'm happy to scan and email these pages to you along with anything else I locate...

Thank you for sharing so much of your research with me!

Cousin Belinda

From Ronny Bodine (August 18, 2022) about Margaret Bodine, Josephine's probable mother:

2nd marriage--1874--JOSEPH N. OWEN.
From great-granddaughter Belinda Rinehart:
She traveled by train to San Francisco to begin a new life. There, she opened a boarding house and eventually owned several properties
She met and married a Mr. Owens, first name Harry I believe. He died during the great San Francisco earthquake when a pole fell on him.
At some point, she took in and raised a young girl named Josephine

From Sacramento County, California Marriage Records:
Joseph N. Owen AND Maggie J. Slaten were married 28 March 1874 in Sacramento.

Joseph N. Owen enlisted as a Private in Company I, 154th Illinois Infantry on 4 Feb 1865 in Nashville, Illinois and was mustered in 17 Feb 1865 at Camp Butler, Illinois. At the time he was aged 18, born in Washington Co., IL and a resident of Richview, Cook Co., IL. He was mustered out 18 Sept 1865 in Nashville, TN.

On 6 Nov 1876, Joseph Newton Owen, 29, native of Illinois, registered to vote in the 4th precinct of San Francisco.

From California Death Records:
Jos. N. Owen, age 29, born in Illinois, died of consumption on 23 July 1877 in Sacramento. He was buried in Sacramento City Cemetery.

On the military service of Joseph N. Owen, Co. I, 154th Illinois Infantry.
On 31 Oct 1890 in New York, minor Maggie Eareckson applied for a minor's pension under no. 483800.
On 5 Oct 1916 in Arkansas, widow Maggie J. Eareckson applied for a widow's pension under no. 1084118.


3rd marriage--1877/1880--HENRY BARNES EARECKSON.
From great-granddaughter Belinda Rinehart:
At some point, she met and married a Mr. Erickson. My father and his siblings knew her as Grandma Erickson
She eventually ended up in the Hot Springs area in Arkansas. My dad grew up near Crystal Springs, so I can't be sure where she lived. I believe she is buried in or around Hot Springs.

Henry B. Errickson, age 4, born in Maryland, was living 1850 with his parents, Terrill and Henrietta Errickson in Baltimore, MD. In 1860, as Henry Earking, age 14 MD, was living with his widowed mother in Baltimore.

1880 San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA: Henry ERICKSON 34 ME [Maine] Solicitor, Margaret 28 KY wife dress maker, Josephine 3 CA dau. [Margaret states her father was born in England and mother in France]

1880 Henry Barnes Eareckson, age 33, born in MD, is registered as a voter in San Francisco, CA.

1900 Manhattan, NY: Henry EARASKON Feb 1847 MD, Margaret Jan 1849 TN wife, Edgar S. Feb 1872 TN son, Josephine? Oct 1878 CA dau. Married 30 years.

From California Death Records:
Henry B. Eareckson, age 63, died 7 Feb 1907 in San Francisco.

Obituary, The San Francisco Call of 9 Feb 1907.
EARECKSON---In this city, February 7, 1907, Henry B., beloved wife [sic] of the late Margaret Eareckson, and father of Mrs. J. Eareckson, a native of Baltimore, Md., aged 63 years.

Henry Eareckson was buried in Olivet Memorial Park, Colma, San Mateo Co., CA.

1910 (1611 47th Avenue) San Francisco, CA: Margaret EARICKSON 50 TN widow, Josephine DAVIS 24 CA dau widow, Florence 7 CA gdau. Margaret stated her father was born in England and her mother in France.