Migration: Bedford, Somerset and Westmoreland Co., PA, Star City, WV, Bureau and Lee Co., IL, Iowa, Schell City, MO, Binghamton, NY, Hamilton Co., OH, Oregon
Branch No. 43 · Last number used: 100
The line at a glance
Every documented descendant in Branch 43, numbered as in the entries below. Names in link colour have a full entry further down the page; generation is shown in parentheses.
1.FNU Latta (1) — first name unknown, recorded over the years as Isaac, William or William Isaac; b. abt. 1786 (estimated); m. Sarah Sparks (Dec. 16, 1786 – Sept. 18, 1860), daughter of Solomon Sparks and Rachel Weimer
2.William (2) — b. 1809 d. 1877; m. (1) Jane or Margaret Causlett(given name unconfirmed — see note below); m. (2) Madalena Schwarz
17. Rachel Anna (3) — b. 1854 d. 1920; m. John M. Morgart
12. Juliana "Julia" (2) — b. 1822 d. 1880
1. FNU Latta (1) — first name unknown (recorded over the years as Isaac, William, or William Isaac)
First name unknown. No primary record has yet been found that names
Sarah Sparks' husband. A typed archive page calls him "Isaac," this site long called
him "William," and the Sparks Family Association's researchers refer to him simply as
"FNU Latta" (first name unknown) — a practice this page now follows until a Bedford
County record settles it. Born about 1786 (estimated). Long recorded here as having died July 5, 1814 in Bedford Co., PA
— but a July 2026 orphans-court find shows that 1814 death almost certainly belongs to
Branch 32's unrelated, childless William Latta, and this progenitor's death date is now
treated as unknown; see the research notes below. (May have been the son of
Branch 17's John Latta and Mary Nixon.) Married twice. Married Sarah Sparks, daughter
of Solomon Sparks and Rachel Weimer. (Info. from the Hollar Bible.)
Solomon Sparks (Sarah's father)
Solomon Sparks was born on July 13, 1760 in Frederick Co., MD, and came to Bedford
County at the age of 16 with two brothers. He enlisted in Boyd's Ranger Company of the
Pennsylvania Militia in the spring of 1782 to fight the Indians who were allies of
Great Britain during the Revolutionary War, and served for about fifteen months. At the
close of the Rev. War, he returned to Frederick Co., MD for about two years before
returning to Bedford County — it may have been in Frederick County, MD that he married
Rachel Weimer. On April 16, 1794, Solomon received 400 acres of land in Bedford County,
probably for his militia service. He also received 200 acres from the State of
Pennsylvania (his Will states that the 200 acres was located on Owl Creek in Crawford
County, PA). With the outbreak of the second war with Great Britain in June 1812,
Solomon organized a company of the 2nd Regiment of Pennsylvania Riflemen, commanded by
Col. William Piper. Included in Sparks' company as a 2nd Corporal was his nephew, James
Sparks, and the roster of privates included another nephew, Joseph Sparks, and his own
two sons, Abraham Sparks and Joseph Sparks. The unit saw action in Buffalo, NY. Many
years later he applied for a pension for his service. Solomon Sparks was undoubtedly a
successful farmer — his home was made of brick, which was uncommon in rural areas of
that time — and a shrewd businessman who made careful and profitable investments.
His daughter, Sarah, was born on Dec. 16, 1786 in Bedford Co., PA and died September
18, 1860 in Bedford Co., PA — corrected from this page's long-standing "September 13,
1850," per her own headstone (see below), which settles the question this page had open
for years. Buried at the Bedford Providence Union Church Cemetery, W. Providence, Bedford
Co., PA — the same cemetery where her own grandson, William (2), was later buried (see
below), and where her sister Delilah Sparks Hughes is also buried nearby. William
Latta's second wife, if he did have one, is reported to be unknown. Did William Latta
leave his first wife, Sarah, or did he die? Was Sarah perhaps his second wife?
Sarah Sparks' headstone, Bedford Providence Union Church Cemetery, Bedford Co., PA: "SARAH SPARKS, Died
Sept. 18, 1860." Confirms the 1860 death date, correcting this page's long-standing
"1850."Two secondary compilations, kept here for the historical record: a
typed Branch 43 page naming the progenitor "Isaac," and Family Group Record–472
for Sarah Sparks (H.C. Smith, Pickerington, OH, Nov. 23, 1995). Neither is a primary
source, and the July 2026 orphans-court findings superseded parts of both (the "1814"
death and the name "Indiana" each fell) — but both were corroborated on the
two-children structure, the FGR's "abt 1815" marriage estimate stands, and its blank
death field helped expose the 1814 misattribution. "Isaac" remains an unverified
candidate name from the typed page only.
Children
Sarah's children are now documented as exactly two: the 1861 estate
petition and Sarah's own will both read "Juliana," collapsing the long-recorded
"Indiana" into Julia (resolved July 31, 2026 — see the research note above). Entry
75 below is retained only for continuity with the site's long-standing numbering.
How firm are these two birth dates? (Assessed Aug. 2, 2026.) They are not
of equal quality, and since the spacing between the two births now carries weight in the
argument above, the difference should be stated plainly.
William (2), June 21, 1809 — firm. His recorded age at death, 68
years 2 months 17 days, reconciles exactly with a June 21, 1809 birth and a Sept. 8,
1877 death under the 30-day-month reckoning used for such ages: 1877−1809 = 68 years;
September−June = 3 months; 8−21 goes negative, so borrowing a month gives
8+30−21 = 17 days and 2 months. One qualification: this may be a single datum
rather than two, since a birth date is often back-computed from the age on a stone, in which
case the agreement is arithmetic rather than corroboration. But everything independent fits
— Solomon's January 1821 will calling him "my grandson, William Latta";
his absence from Solomon's 1820 tally in precisely the 10–15 bracket; the 1840 East
Providence household. The only competing figure is the penciled "1803?" on the
Sparks Association record, a guess with no source behind it.
Juliana, "1822" — considerably softer, with a live four-year
conflict. Two records give 1822: her Wyanet headstone ("1822–1880")
and the 1870 census (age 48). One gives about 1825–26: the 1850 census, where
she is "Juliann Hughes, 24." The 1850 entry deserves more weight than the
page has given it. On that same 1850 page Sarah is recorded as 63, which matches her
documented birth of Dec. 16, 1786 exactly — so that enumerator's ages
were accurate in that household, and the return was taken in Bedford, in the house where
Juliana was living with her own mother, 24 years after the event. The 1822 evidence is both
later and more remote: a census 48 years on, and a stone carved in Illinois some four hundred
miles from Bedford, 58 years after the birth — and the two may not be independent of
each other. Her true range should be read as 1822–1826, leaning later.
Two consequences. The gap between Sarah's children may be seventeen years
rather than thirteen, with Juliana born when Sarah was 39 — which strengthens
rather than weakens the two-separate-episodes reading above. And it yields a clean test:
if Juliana was born about 1826, Solomon's 1830 tally should show a girl under 5
in the household Sarah had returned to; born 1822, she would fall in the 5–10 bracket
instead. One tally settles it. (A note on naming: "William Sparks
Latta," found in an unsourced online tree, has no primary support — no record
located gives him a middle name at all. "Sparks" is useful only as informal
shorthand distinguishing Sarah's son from his unnamed father.)
2. William (2) — b. June 21, 1809; d. Sept. 8, 1877 in Bedford County, PA.
12. Juliana "Julia" (2) — b. 1822×1826 (see the assessment above);
d. 1880. Recorded under the surname
Hughes 1850–1865 and Manspeaker/Mauspeaker
1870–1880. No marriage of hers is documented — neither a
Hughes husband nor a Manspeaker one appears in any record found to date; the older reading
here ("m. (1) _____ Hughes, by 1850; m. (2) William Manspeaker at Everett, PA")
was inference and compiled hearsay, and is retained only as a note of what this page used to
say. See "What we actually know about Juliana" above, including the possibility
that she was born Hughes. The 1870
Bedford Co. census (West Providence Twp., Aug. 25, 1870) confirms her: "Manspeaker,
Julia, 48, Domestic Servant, PA" is recorded right in the household of William Henry
Harrison Latta (3) — her nephew — alongside his wife Barbara and children Mary
Jane, John H., and Emma B., all ages matching their known birth dates exactly. Her age
(48) matches her recorded 1822 birth year precisely; she is living as a domestic in her
nephew's house with no husband present (the census does not say widowed — that was
this page's inference). By 1880 she had moved with (or followed) William Henry
Harrison's family to Wyanet, Bureau Co., Illinois — per an unsourced online tree, living
there as "Aunt" in a relative's household — and her headstone at Forest Hill Cemetery,
Wyanet ("JULIA MAUSPEAKER 1822–1880") confirms both her death year and burial there. She
is buried in the same family plot as two of William Henry Harrison's children, Emma B.
Latta (1868–1884) and Ada D. Latta (1883–1884) — both already documented above —
confirming she was buried among her nephew's family. Note the headstone spells the married
name "Mauspeaker," a variant of "Manspeaker." Her mother's
administration account still repays "Juliana Hughs" on Feb. 10, 1863,
and the Illinois administration account of Abraham Sparks' estate pays "Juliana
Manspeaker (heir)" on Dec. 20, 1864, so the change of surname falls
between February 1863 and December 1864. (The Bedford auditor still wrote "Juliana Hughes" in October 1865,
but he was copying from papers filed under her older name — see the discussion
above.)
75. Indiana (2) — b. 1817; m. _____ Hughs or Hayes. Retired July 31,
2026: Sarah's will and the 1861 estate petition both read "Juliana" —
"Indiana" was a misreading, i.e., the same person as Julia (2), not a separate
daughter. No primary source was ever located for the "b. 1817." This entry is kept
only for continuity with the site's long-standing numbering.
1870 census, West Providence Twp., Bedford Co., PA (Aug. 25, 1870) — Julia
Manspeaker, 48, Domestic Servant, listed with William H. Latta's family.Julia Mauspeaker's headstone (1822–1880) and family plot, Forest Hill
Cemetery, Wyanet, Bureau Co., Illinois — beside Emma B. and Ada D. Latta.
Solomon Sparks left an inheritance of $100 to his grandson, William Latta, in his
will, which is of record in Bedford County. This page long carried a condensed paraphrase of
the relevant clauses; the original was read Aug. 2, 2026, and the exact
wording matters, so it is given here verbatim:
"…and also pay to my five beloved daughters, namely Sarah,
Hannah, Mary, Delilah and Racheal Sparks the sum of two hundred dollars each in the
following manner: That is one hundred and fifty dollars to be paid to Sarah
Sparks on the first day of January One thousand eight hundred and twenty six, and
fifty dollars to be paid on the first day of January One thousand eight hundred and twenty
seven which makes her two hundred dollars…
…I give and bequeath to my Grand Son William Latta One hundred dollars to be
paid to him when he becomes of age. And if any of my children should not live to
enjoy their share thus bequeathed to them it is my will that it be equally divided between
the surviving heirs.
P.S. I also give to my son Abraham One hundred and fifty dollars of Turnpike Stock, and
further he is to provide a Comfortable living for his mother and provide
keeping for her horse and cow and provide for the children, until they arrive to
twenty one years of age."
Why the exact words matter to the FNU question. Three features of this
text bear on whether William's father was alive, or ever existed as a husband, in
January 1821, when the boy was eleven.
The legacy bypasses everyone. A legacy to a minor normally passes
through the child's father — his natural guardian at law — or
through an appointed guardian. Solomon names neither, and does not route the money through
Sarah either: it is held ten years and paid to the boy himself at twenty-one. Taken alone a
deferral like this is common enough to prove little; taken with the rest, it is of a
piece.
Sarah is "Sarah Sparks" in the same instrument that calls her son
"William Latta." This is the sharpest point, and it was invisible in the
old paraphrase, which dropped the surname from the list of daughters. The scrivener plainly
knew the name Latta — he writes it a few lines later. He does not apply it to the
boy's mother. Had Sarah been a wife or a widow, "my daughter Sarah Latta" is
what one expects; instead she stands among her four sisters under the family name.
That is a distinction drawn inside a single document, not loose drafting — and
it is stronger evidence than her use of Sparks in later life, because in 1821 her son was
living and eleven years old.
She is treated exactly as her unmarried sisters are — $200, the
same as Hannah, Mary, Delilah and Rachel, on the same staged schedule. There is no
"sole and separate use" clause, the standard device for shielding a married
daughter's legacy from her husband's control and creditors. Soft evidence on its
own, but it points the same way.
Two further notes. William Latta appears to be the only grandchild named in the
entire will, which fits a family whose daughters were as yet unmarried. And the
postscript's "provide for the children until they arrive to twenty one years of
age" is genuinely ambiguous as to whose children are meant — most likely
Solomon's own youngest, since his 1820 tally shows a boy under 10 and two girls at home
— but if it reaches grandchildren, it is Abraham being charged with maintaining
William, which is precisely the household William is found in later.
The will also gives the complete sibling roll: sons Abraham (the eldest,
who takes the home place), Joseph (the Hagerty place), Jonas
(the Chapman place on Clear Ridge), John (the Chaney place adjoining Philip
Morgert) and Soloman (the old place on Clear Ridge and the Calhoun place);
daughters Sarah, Hannah, Mary, Delilah and Racheal.
Executors: his wife Rachel Sparks and son Abraham.
Solomon's will was made January 10, 1821. Solomon Sparks died on April 8, 1838 at
the age of 77 years, 8 months, and 25 days. Probate followed within weeks:
the subscribing witnesses were Joseph Sparks and Abraham Martin, whose
handwriting had to be proved in 1838 by Charles Ackerson and Abraham McDaniel — done
when witnesses are dead or beyond reach, and Joseph's removal to Bureau County, Illinois
would account for it. Rachel Sparks, the widow, renounced the executrixship
("do hereby renounce and relinquish all my right and title to Administration of said
Estate," Apr. 28, 1838), signing by her mark — as Sarah would sign her own
will two decades later — and letters testamentary issued the same day to
Abraham Sparks, John G. Martin, Register.
Aug. 4, 2026 — the probate re-read off the image, with three corrections
The paragraph above was written Aug. 2 from a transcription. The will-book images
(Bedford Co. Will Book, pp. 125–126) were read directly on Aug. 4, and three details
were wrong. They are corrected here rather than silently, per this page's practice.
The deponents are Charles Ashcom and Amos McDaniel,
not "Charles Ackerson and Abraham McDaniel."
The renunciation and the letters are three days apart, not the same day.
Rachel Sparks renounced on Apr. 25, 1838; letters testamentary issued to
Abraham Sparks on Apr. 28, 1838.
Abraham Martin was dead, and the record says so outright — a
second affidavit, sworn Apr. 24, 1838, proves the hand of "the late Hon. Abraham Martin
dec'd." The page had explained the handwriting proof by supposing Joseph Sparks had
removed to Illinois. That guess should be withdrawn: the ordinary reason a
subscribing witness's hand is proved by third parties is that he is dead, it is
demonstrably the reason for Martin, and the Sparks Family Association places a Joseph Sparks
of this family dead in 1832 — six years before the probate, and the
same Joseph whose estate the Bedford County Historical Society names as the earliest in its
holdings.
A queued search can now be retired. This page has carried a search target
of Bedford orphans'-court minutes "for the Estate of Solomon Sparks (1821–1825,
for a guardianship petition)." There will not have been one. The $100 was payable to
William "when he becomes of age"; he turned twenty-one in June
1830; Solomon did not die until April 1838. The condition was
already satisfied when the money fell due, so no minor, no guardian, and no court. That also
supplies an innocent explanation for one of this page's more stubborn negatives —
the binding-out and guardianship searches that found nothing may have found nothing because
there was nothing to find. What to look for instead is a receipt signed by William
Latta himself, as a grown man, in the executor's accounts of 1838–1841.
One thing that is not an FNU lead, recorded so it is not chased twice.
The will provides that "if any of my children should not live to enjoy their share…
it be equally divided between the surviving heirs," and if Joseph died in 1832 he
predeceased his father, so his devise lapsed and the settlement had to account for it. That is
Sparks housekeeping. It tells us the 1838–1841 file is substantial and
litigated enough to have survived; it does not bear on the identity of William's father,
and it should not be worked as though it did. The one thing in that file worth the
trip is how William Latta is described when he is paid — whether a clerk
attaches any parentage to him at all.
Aug. 4, 2026 — Joseph Sparks, miller, sells out in Providence Township (1803)
Bedford Co. Deed Book, p. 358, marginated Sparks to Blankley:
"I Joseph Sparks of Providence Township, Bedford County and Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, Miller… Whereas the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by a
warrant bearing date the fourth Day of June 1792 did grant to be surveyed
unto Joseph Sparks one hundred acres Land adjoining Lands of Joseph
Dunken laying on both sides of Milk and Water Creek in Providence
Township…" Sold to John Blankley for £90;
dated June 13, 1803, recorded Dec. 5, 1803, Jacob Bonnett, Recorder. Witnesses William
Coinell and Jane Evans. Joseph Sparks signed his own name, twice.
What it adds: an occupation (miller — a mill is exactly the sort of
place a landless man finds work, which is the FNU profile); a Sparks presence on
Providence ground from 1792, on warrant; literacy, in contrast to
Sarah and to Magdalena Latta, who both signed by mark; and two more names for the Providence
circle, Joseph Duncan and John Blankley. It names no kin
and states no relationship, so it does not touch FNU directly. Milk and Water Creek
is, however, a locator — the Sparks land can now be placed against Providence
Union Church, where Sarah is buried, and against the East Providence tract William (2) sold
to Rebecca Defibaugh in 1854.
Which Joseph is unresolved, and it matters. The Sparks Family Association places
Solomon's father, 1.2.5.2 Joseph Sparks Jr., ca. 1730–1809, in
Frederick Co., Md. and Bedford Co., Pa. — who would have been about seventy-three in
1803 and might well be selling out. The other candidate is Solomon's son Joseph,
the 1821 will-witness, dead by 1838. They are two generations apart and the deed distinguishes
them only by an occupation. Logged unassigned.
Aug. 4, 2026 — Solomon identified in the Sparks Family Association lineage, and a Revolutionary pension file
A surname-wide search of the Sparks Family Association article archive
(sparksfamilyassn.org) returns 128 hits for Solomon Sparks. Ours is
1.2.5.2.5, born 1760, of Bedford County — cited as
"Solomon Sparks (1760–1838) on the 1820 and 1830 censuses" in Paul E. Sparks'
article 48. Mahlon Sparks (1818–1892) of Bedford County, Pennsylvania. His
father is 1.2.5.2 Joseph Sparks Jr. (ca. 1730–1809), and the family came
from Frederick County, Maryland about 1784, three brothers together — which matches the
account already on this page of a boy arriving in Bedford County at sixteen with two
brothers.
The new record set: Revolutionary War pension file S4874. SFA lists
1.2.5.2.5 Solomon Sparks among Sparkses in the American Revolution. Pension
applications under the 1832 act carry a sworn autobiographical statement — birthplace,
residences at each enlistment, every removal since. Rachel survived him
(she was renouncing in April 1838), so a widow's application may exist as well,
and those name the marriage and sometimes the children. Neither has been examined.
A correction this page can send back. SFA's own articles give this
same 1760-born Bedford Solomon three different death years — 1832,
1838 and 1842. The Bedford will book settles it: will signed
Jan. 10, 1821, widow's renunciation Apr. 25, 1838, letters testamentary Apr. 28, 1838.
He died shortly before April 1838, consistent with the death of Apr. 8, 1838
and age 77 years 8 months 25 days already recorded above.
Two look-alikes now logged, before they cost anything.1.2.5.5.3 Solomon Sparks (1767–1838) of Washington County, Pa. and Adams County,
Ohio — a different lineage in the same state, born seven years later, dead the
same year. And our Solomon's own son Solomon, who took the old place on
Clear Ridge and died between Aug. 1865 and Aug. 1867 (see the Abraham Sparks estate below).
Working rule: the father is Solomon of Providence Township, d. 1838, wife Rachel, ten
children; the son is Solomon of Clear Ridge, d. 1865×1867. April 1838 is the dividing
line — any Bedford Solomon after it is the son. Where a record supplies neither
date nor place, leave it unassigned rather than choosing. This page learned that lesson
expensively with the Williams.
Standing of the source. SFA is a compiled secondary work and is demonstrably
inconsistent on Solomon's death date. It is used here to generate candidates, lineage
numbers and citations — each of which is then checked against the county record.
Aug. 9, 2026 — pension file S4874 examined: three confirmations, and no family
Solomon Sparks' Revolutionary War pension claim, flagged as unexamined on Aug. 4, has been
read — in the form of the National Archives' summary letter of 7 Oct. 1938
to C. C. Weaverling (FamilySearch image group 116083139, image 9 of 12). It answers the questions
the page had put to it, and closes the lead.
What it confirms. Solomon died April 8, 1838 — now
attested by a federal record independent of the Bedford will book, which disposes of the Sparks
Family Association's competing 1832 and 1842 dates for good. He was born in 1758 in
Frederick County, Maryland, which corroborates the Maryland origin already recorded here.
And he was living in Providence Township, Bedford County when he executed his
application on 29 Aug. 1832.
What it adds. He enlisted in April 1782 while already living in
Bedford County and served fifteen or eighteen months as a private in Captain John
Boyd's Pennsylvania company, protecting the frontier. He then returned to
Maryland for two years before settling in Bedford for good — so his presence in
Bedford runs from before April 1782, with a Maryland interval about 1784–86. That is a
sharper itinerary than the "came from Frederick County about 1784" previously recorded.
The Captain John Boyd of this company has no established connection to the John Boyd who
adjoins the Westmoreland tract described below; the name is a common one and the counties differ.
A discrepancy to log, not to resolve. The pension gives his birth as
1758. The age on his death record — 77 years, 8 months, 25 days at death on
8 Apr. 1838 — works back to July 1760. Pension declarations were sworn
fifty years after the fact by men who often did not know their own birth year precisely; the
age-at-death figure has its own chain of custody. Both are recorded here; neither is preferred.
And the negative, which is the point. The 1938 clerk states plainly that
"the papers in this claim give no data relative to the family of Solomon Sparks".
There is no widow's application from Rachel, no list of children, and nothing naming a
son-in-law. The hope invested in this file — that an 1832-act declaration would carry the
family detail the county records withhold — is not realised. It does not touch the
FNU question. The file runs to twelve images and only the summary has been read; the
1832 declaration itself may yet name supporting deponents, but the clerk's statement sets a
low expectation. Logged as examined and substantially negative.
Aug. 9, 2026 — Big Y-700: this line is R-BY77526, and it runs to Branch 3
A male-line descendant of this branch — the line FNU (1) → William (2) →
John Causlett (3) — has taken Family Tree DNA's Big Y-700. The
terminal haplogroup is R-BY77526; full results released Aug. 9, 2026. Because
the Y chromosome descends father to son unchanged but for occasional mutations, this result
speaks to the paternal line only — but the paternal line is precisely what is missing
here. Matches are given by initials and branch number, following the convention of the
project's own Each Man's Story article; the tester and the kit numbers are
withheld pending the other men's consent.
The first thing it settles: the surname is genuine. Both Big Y matches are
Latta-descended men. That retires a real alternative this page has had to leave open —
that William (2) acquired the Latta name by some route other than descent from a Latta father.
It was a live possibility while his father had no name in any record and his mother had
reverted to Sparks. It is now closed: the FNU was a Latta by descent.
The block is very small. R-BY77526 contains exactly three tested
men worldwide — the Branch 43 descendant, B.M.L. (Branch 3), and
W.M. (#27a). Their self-reported origins read United States, Belgium and Ireland,
but those entries are what each tester believes about his deep origin, not where his
documented ancestors lived, and at least two are misleading: B.M.L.'s line is
documented in Donegal and Crawford Co., Pa., not Belgium, and W.M.'s is documented in
Pennsylvania from 1740, not Ireland. The
path down to it runs R-Z16281 > R-A14023 > R-BY14548
> R-BY77526. The nearest neighbouring branch, R-BY14548, holds a single man,
in Ireland. (Note for anyone comparing against the project article: it prints this SNP as
"R-BY77256" and the branch above it as "R-BY14023"; the database strings are
R-BY77526 and R-A14023.)
The dates. FamilyTreeDNA Discover puts the formation of R-BY77526 at about
1550 CE and the most recent common ancestor of the three men at about
1700 CE. These are modelled point estimates; the confidence interval has not
yet been recorded here, and small blocks date poorly. They should not be read as precise.
And now the part that matters. B.M.L.'s documented paternal line runs
back four generations to Thomas Latta, born 6 Feb. 1789, died 10 Sept. 1877
— who is Branch 3's individual 22: "THOMAS (5) LATTA —
William (4) Samuel (3) ____ (2) ____ (1). Born in Donegal, Ireland February 6, 1789; d.
September 10, 1877; m. Isabelle Foster … February 5, 1811, in Crawford Co., Pa. …
He went with his parents in 1801 to Crawford Co., Pa." Every distinctive name in his
descendants — Foster, Souter, Calista, Lytle — appears on the Branch 3 page and
nowhere else on this site.
Two independent measures agree. Branch 3's own compiled pedigree stops
at "2 UNKNOWN (2) LATTA — Unknown (1). Born about 1678; d. in Londonderry,
Ireland, early in the 18th century." A haplogroup age computed from mutation rates
and a genealogy compiled decades ago from Irish family memory land in the same generation,
neither knowing of the other. Branch 43's paternal line appears to join Branch 3
at or just below its unnamed (1) and (2).Where that man lived is inference, not
measurement: Branch 3's line is documented in Ulster to 1801, and the Manor of Maske was
settled by Scots-Irish families out of Ulster, so a common ancestor there is the simplest reading
— but the DNA itself carries no geography.
Aug. 9, 2026, evening — the third man identified: W.M. is Branch 27, and the block joins two branches
W.M.'s own tree resolves the second match and corrects a reading made earlier the same day.
His line is Robert Allen MacIntosh (1921–1997), son of Howard L. Latta
(1884–1964) — so the surname change is recent and single-generation, which is
why the project article notes this tester knows exactly when it arose. Above Howard the line is
identified as Thornton Zacharia Latta (1855–1931) and
Hugh Stephens Latta (b. 1814) — and Hugh Stephens is
Branch 27's individual 15, the twin of Ephraim Stephens Latta, born
11 Apr. 1814 to John (3) Latta and Letitia Stephen.
That runs W.M. back to Thomas (2) Latta, m. Deborah Johnston — whose
family, checked against a MyHeritage record for John, matches Branch 27's roster name for
name: Mary, Ann, Alexander, Deborah, Elizabeth Speer, Catherine Speer, Jane, Thomas, Rebecca.
W.M.'s earliest known ancestor, "Thomas Latta, b. ? d. 1797," is therefore
Branch 27's Thomas (2) — of the Manor of Maske, in what is now Adams County
— and not an Irish Thomas.Dates conflict between sources and are not
resolved here: Branch 27 gives Thomas (2) b. abt. 1727, d. abt. 1796 and John (3) b. abt. 1780,
d. 1822; the MyHeritage record gives Thomas 1750–1797 and John 1790–1814. Thomas b.
1750 cannot be reconciled with a daughter born 1764.
So the block joins three branches, not two: 3, 27 and 43. Branches 3 and 27
are the same paternal family, converging about 1700 — a connection neither branch page
records. For this page the consequence is geographic. Branch 27 sat in Adams County from
1740, some sixty miles east of Bedford, with a further foothold at Paxtang in Dauphin County
— the same corner of Pennsylvania as the FNU. Branch 3's American ground was
Westmoreland and, from 1801, Crawford, in the west and north-west. If the FNU descends
through Branch 27, his father was born in Pennsylvania, not in Ireland.
One candidate eliminated, and a caution against the rest.Alexander (3) — noted on the Branch 27 page as omitted from Deborah's
1815 will, and taken here that morning as a promising gap — is recorded in the MyHeritage
tree as 1768–1772. He died at four. That is why he is missing from the
will, and he is no candidate for anything. The remaining Branch 27 openings are
Thomas (3) ("No other History is known") and the
Robert Latta living in Thomas's household in 1777, whose relationship is
never stated. This page has now moved Branch 27 up, down and up again in a single day on
successive scraps of evidence. The honest position is that Branches 3 and 27 are both in the
block, neither is excluded, the DNA cannot yet tell them apart because R-BY77526 has not split
— and only the geography favours 27.
What this does not do is name him. It places the FNU inside a family; it
does not identify the man. Three men is too few to resolve a block — R-BY77526 has not
split, so there is as yet no evidence whether this line stands closer to B.M.L. or to
W.M. A fourth tester from a documented line would likely split it and settle that. A full Big Y
runs roughly $450, but a single-SNP test for R-BY77526 costs about $25, and a
negative result is a clean, permanent exclusion: any male-line relative of the FNU must carry
this SNP.
Where the FNU could sit, with names. Branch 3 carries two pools of
under-documented males of the right generation:
The Moses (3) line — and geographically the better fit. William (4),
born in Ireland 1730, died 15 Feb. 1803 at South Huntingdon Twp., Westmoreland Co.
— the next county but one from Bedford. His children include Sarah (5), James (5),
Elizabeth (5) and William (5), all undated, and 145 John (5), a minor
in 1803 — therefore born between 1783 and 1803. At the early end of that range he is a man
of about twenty-five in 1808, living in the right region. A caution on this entry.
Robert's original text reads "JOHN (5) a minor in 1803, with Moses for his guardian.
Probably his uncle Moses." The Branch 3 page renders the same sentence as
"with his brother, Moses for his guardian," without noting the change. Robert's
"probably" marks the identification as his own inference, not a citation
— so it should not be assumed that a Westmoreland guardianship document underlies it. The
minority itself may equally rest on the 1805 conveyance below.
The Samuel (3) line. Samuel (3), b. Londonderry abt. 1719, m. Mary McCobb;
his son William L. (4), b. Londonderry 1757, is B.M.L.'s
great-great-great-grandfather. A MyHeritage member tree adds to William's children two
further sons, Samuel and Robert, both undated — but see the note on
sources below.
Record targets follow directly, and none requires anyone's reply. The
obvious one — a Westmoreland Orphans' Court guardianship of 1803 — was searched
on Aug. 9, 2026 and not found; and per the caution above, Robert may never have
had such a document. Early Westmoreland Orphans' Court dockets are a separate series from the
Register of Wills books, are largely unindexed, and are catalogued by place rather than by name,
so a name search returns nothing whether or not the record exists. The better targets are these:
The deed of 9 Dec. 1805, by which William (5) "with his mother sold
land of the estate of William, the elder." Land of an intestate could not be conveyed without
the heirs, and a minor's share required a guardian to act — so the deed itself may name
every child, and John's guardian with him. Westmoreland deed books are indexed by grantor and
far more accessible than the Orphans' Court dockets.
Orphans' Court partition or valuation of William (4)'s real estate.
An intestate landowner's estate ordinarily generated partition proceedings, which name all
heirs and identify minors and their guardians. These may fall anywhere from 1803 to the 1810s,
not in 1803 — a wider window than has been searched.
Westmoreland tax lists, South Huntingdon Twp., roughly 1804–1815. A
John Latta first appearing in the single-freeman class dates his majority and so brackets his
birth — the same method that settled the Branch 17 William on this page.
The administration on William (4), granted 18 Mar. 1803 on a £1,500
bond (docket entry already read; see above) — any subsequent account or distribution.
Weaker: the estate of the William Latta said to have died in 1813,
presumably Crawford Co., which would name Samuel and Robert if they existed.
A related guardianship that does appear in the compiled record. Branch 3's
10 John (4) Latta — brother of William (4) — "Died about December
16, 1799… She and his brother, Moses, with whom he lived, took out letters of administration
on his estate. Guardians were appointed for three of his children." If those
appointments were recorded, Westmoreland Orphans' Court material for this family does survive
for about 1800, which would be worth knowing before abandoning the series.
Standing of the sources. The haplogroup and match data are primary test results.
The age estimates are modelled, not measured, and are quoted here as point
values without their confidence intervals. Branch 3's pedigree is a compiled
secondary work, and its earliest generations are explicitly unnamed. The
MyHeritage tree is user-submitted and carries no sources; its birth, death and
burial data for Thomas (5) match this site exactly, which may mean corroboration or may simply
mean it was copied from here — that agreement is therefore not independent
support, and the Rankin marriage and the two extra sons rest on nothing but that tree. Nothing
on the Branch 3 page has been altered; its captain, Alan Leroy Latta, was
written to on Aug. 9, 2026, as were both DNA matches.
Aug. 9, 2026, later — the 1805 Latta deed found, and it cites the Orphans' Court order by date
The conveyance Robert knew about has been found and read — not the December date he
gives, but 17 April 1805, recorded 20 April 1805 (Westmoreland Co. Recorder of
Deeds; certified copy made 20 Feb. 1906 under No. 318 February Term 1906, Court of Common Pleas;
FamilySearch image group 008085361, image 463 of 776). Either Robert cited a different one of the
instrument's several dates, or a second deed remains to be found.
It settles the relationship first. The grantors are
"William Latta & Sarah Latta widow of William Latta late deceased, both
of the township of East Huntington, Westmoreland County" — not
"Sarah his wife." This is the son conveying with his widowed mother, exactly as Robert
described. Note also the township: East Huntingdon, where Branch 3 records the elder William
as of South Huntingdon. That is a point for Branch 3's captain, not for this page.
They sold to Christian Nafsker (so rendered; probably Naftzger) of
Londonderry Township, Dauphin County, for £1,956 — a plantation
called "Ashfield," 300 acres and 132 perches in East Huntingdon,
adjoining Isaac Meason, John Boyd, Michael Campbell, Samuel Morehead, James Smith
and Hugh Bay. The price corroborates the £1,500 administration bond: this
was a wealthy man's estate. (The buyer's Londonderry Township is in Pennsylvania and has
no bearing on the Londonderry, Ireland of the DNA finding above.)
And then the recital that matters. The tract was part of a larger one
surveyed on a warrant dated 2 Feb. 1786 granted to "Wm Latta who is since
dec'd intestate"; and —
"whereas by an order of the Orphans Court, held at
Greensburgh for the county of Westmoreland, on the Nineteenth day of December … one thousand
eight hundred & three, the above described tract of land was adjudged to the
said William Latta, he being son of said deceased, and complying with the conditions of
said order…"
— after which William took out a patent dated 4 Mar. 1805, enrolled in the Rolls
Office, Book No. 55, page 391.
What this deed is not. The William Latta who signs it is not
the FNU, and nothing in it names the father of William (2) of Bedford County. He is Branch 3's
144 William (5), a son of the William (4) who died in February 1803 — alive
and dealing in land long after the FNU's child was conceived. Nor is the Orphans' Court
order likely to name him: the DNA above puts the shared ancestor of this line and Branch 3 at
about 1700, three generations above William (4), so the FNU may as easily descend
through Moses (3)'s other sons, through Samuel (3)'s line, or through a son of (2) whom
Branch 3 never recorded.
These are Branch 3's records, and they have been passed to Branch 3. The
Orphans' Court citation, the East-versus-South Huntingdon discrepancy, and the uncle-versus-brother
wording noted above were sent to Alan Leroy Latta, Branch 3's captain, rather
than pursued here. What this page takes from the deed is narrow and sufficient: the
documented Branch 3 family into which the Y-DNA places this line is real, wealthy, and precisely
located in Westmoreland County in 1803–05. The question this page will keep asking
is the Bedford one — whether any Latta of that family can be placed in Bedford
County about 1808.
2. William Latta (2)
William (1). Born: June 21, 1809; died Sept. 8, 1877. Buried at Providence Union
Church Cemetery (now called the Providence Bible Baptist Church) at W. Providence,
Bedford Co., PA. He was 68 yrs., 2 mos. and 17 days old. Lived at Everett, Pa. (Ray's
Cove, Route 4). Married twice:
Wife #1: long recorded here as "Miss Margaret Causlett" — but the first
primary record ever found for her, daughter Jane's 1911 death certificate (see below),
gives the mother's maiden name as "Jane Coslet." The surname is now
attested twice independently (family record "Causlett," certificate "Coslet" —
plus son John's middle name), but the given name — Margaret, Jane, or perhaps
"Margaret Jane" — is an open question; her sons' death certificates (John C., 1915,
Hughes Co., S.D.; William H.H., 1910, Bureau Co., Ill.) were the natural tiebreakers,
but John C.'s certificate — found Aug. 2026, in Iowa, under "Latty" — gives
his mother as "not known," so the question now rests on William H.H.'s still-unfound
1910 Illinois death record and the family's Civil War pension files. She died
between Sept. 1842 (daughter Jane's birth) and abt. 1846 (William's remarriage) —
and see the "Jane Latty" note below: her own grave may be the mystery stone at
Providence.
Wife #2: Madeline (Magdalena) Schwarz — long listed here as
"Mary Jane 'Jane' Swartz. (Magdalene?)", resolved in July 2026: her memorial marker at
the Providence cemetery reads "Madeline Schwarz (wife of Wm. Latta)," the 1850 and 1880
censuses call her Madelina/Magdalene, and the 1877 orphans-court heirs petition names the
widow "Magdalene Latta." No primary record calls her Mary Jane. She survived William,
her dower remaining secured on the farm when it was sold (see the estate note below), and
was living with daughter Rachel (Morgart) in 1880.
Children by first wife
3. William Henry Harrison (3) — b. Dec. 23, 1840; d. March 21, 1910.
4. John Causlett (3) — b. Jan. 18, 1838; d. July 3, 1915 at Waverly, Bremer Co.,
Iowa (buried Harrold, S.D.) — see his entry below.
13. Jane (3) — b. Sept. 8, 1842; d. Sept. 8, 1911, on her 69th birthday and
thirty-four years to the day after her father; m. Nicholas Garlick. Her Bedford
County death certificate (file no. 84527, W. Providence Twp.; informant her husband
Nicholas, of Everett; buried Providence Cemetery Sept. 10, 1911; cause acute gastritis)
settles the birth date this page long garbled as "abt. 1832" — almost certainly a
simple slip for 1842, matching the 1850 census (age 7, in Abraham Sparks' household
with her grandmother Sarah) and her birth-order position in the 1877 heirs petition. The
certificate also names her parents: father "Wm. Latta," mother "Jane
Coslet" — see the wife #1 entry above. The old "b. abt. 1832" was not
merely a slip: the 1840 census (below) shows a real earlier daughter, born abt.
1830–35, who died young — this entry long conflated the two girls.
Jane (Latta) Garlick's Pennsylvania death certificate (file no. 84527,
Bedford Co., filed Sept. 9, 1911; located Aug. 1, 2026 via the state's 1911 death
index): born Sept. 8, 1842; died Sept. 8, 1911; father "Wm. Latta," mother
"Jane Coslet"; informant Nicholas Garlick, Everett; buried Providence
Cemetery, Sept. 10, 1911. The first primary record ever found naming William (2)'s
first wife.
Children by second wife
5. David Samuel (3) — b. July 8, 1852; d. Feb. 10, 1937.
6. Abraham (3) — b. abt. 1848; d. after 1920.
14. Phillip (3) — d. young.
15. Polly (3) — d. young.
16. Mary Ann (3) — d. young.
17. Rachel Anna (3) — b. February 26, 1854 at Ray's Cove, Everett, Pa.; d.
February 21, 1920 at Everett (Bloody Run Borough), PA at age 65. Buried Feb. 24, 1920
at the Everett Cemetery, Everett, Bedford Co., Pa.; m. John M. Morgart, son of Abraham
Morgart and Sarah McIlvaine, on August 19, 1879. John Morgart was born June 19, 1857 in
Noggle Residence, West Providence Twp., Bedford Co., PA, and died March 18, 1935 in
Everett, Bedford Co., PA, buried March 21, 1935 in Everett Cemetery. Six children:
Howard John, Chalmer Lewis, Lottie Viola, Goldie M., Jessie I., and Marshall William.
Bedford Gazette, February 27, 1920 — Obituary for Rachel Morgart: "Mrs.
John Morgart, nee Latta, passed away Saturday at her Everett home, in the 66th year of
her life. She was born near Ray's hill, this county. Surviving are two brothers, her
husband and seven children. Death was due to influenza. Interment was made in the
Everett cemetery Tuesday afternoon." For more on the Morgart family, see
www.freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~rkandbd/morgart/2491.htm
The 1840 census — the family's first, found under "Latty" (Aug.
2026). No Latta or Latty household appears anywhere in Bedford County in 1810,
1820, or 1830; the family's first census entry is "LATTY, William," East
Providence Township, 1840 (p. 248, enumerated by William Piper) — invisible
to a century of Latta searches. The household: one male 20–30 (William, 30), one
female 20–30 (his first wife, alive in June 1840 — and expecting
William Henry Harrison, born that December), one boy under 5 (John, 2), and one
girl aged 5–10 — a daughter born about 1830–35 who appears in no
later record: the real owner of the "b. abt. 1832" long attached to her younger
sister Jane, and, having died young, a candidate for the "Jane Latty" stone (see the
research note above). Source: USGenWeb transcription of the 1840 federal census,
Bedford Co., Pa. (M704-445).
The 1850 Bedford Co. Census for E. Providence Twp. shows William Latta, age 40,
farmer, born in PA, married to Madelina, age 33, born in PA. Their children were: John,
13, school; William, 10, school; Abram, 2; and Philip, 1. The 1880 Bedford Co. Census
shows Magdalene Latta, age 64, widowed, born in PA, living with her daughter and
son-in-law, John M. Morgart, age 21, and Rachael A. Morgart, age 26. Living next door
was Abraham Morgart, age 48, and wife Sarah, age 44, and three daughters — we would
assume these were the parents of John M. Morgart.
1850 Bedford Co. census — West Providence Township
Name
Age
Notes
Abraham Sparks
59
Farmer and innkeeper
Sarah (no last name)
63
This would have been his sister (Sarah Latta)
Rachel
41
Juliann Hughes
24
Resolved July 2026: Sarah's own daughter Juliana (2), under her first married name — see the Juliana research note above.
Rachel Mandel
22
William Latta
9
Did he take William and Jane to live with him and their grandmother, perhaps after their mother's death? Their father would have remarried. Or was he just living there during school?
Jane Latta
7
Did he take William and Jane to live with him and their grandmother, perhaps after their mother's death? Their father would have remarried.
William Chaney
23
Laborer
1850 census, West Providence Twp., Bedford Co., PA (Oct. 3, 1850) —
Abraham Sparks' household (including Juliann Hughes, William and Jane Latta) and, a few
lines below, Uriah and Delilah Hughes' own household.
This record shows that William Latta (age 9) and his sister Jane Latta (age 7) were
living with their great-uncle Abraham Sparks, brother to Sarah Sparks Latta, their
grandmother. If it is the same William, son of William and his first wife (Jane Coslet
per the 1911 death certificate; "Margaret Causlett" per the family record) above, then
he is listed in two households during the 1850 census. Perhaps he was living at the inn
owned by Abraham Sparks while he was going to school, so both households included him.
This same census page rewards a close look at the Hughes side too: Delilah Sparks
(Sarah's sister) and her husband, "Uriah Hughes, 55, Plasterer," have their own
separate household a few lines down, with sons William (16) and Barclay
(13) — and no Juliann, which is consistent with the July 2026 resolution:
the "Juliann Hughes, 24" in Abraham's household is not a Hughes daughter at all but
Sarah's own daughter Juliana (2), under her first married name, living
beside her mother. (Note also: the census taker who signed this page as Ass't Marshal
is Uriah Hughes himself — Delilah's husband enumerated his own street. And young
Barclay, 13, is almost certainly the "Bartley Hughes" who, twenty-seven
years later, would administer his first cousin William (2)'s estate — see the estate
research note below.)
The Sparks Family website at www.sparksfamilytree.net states that after the death of
his father in 1838, Abraham Sparks headed a household composed of his sisters, Sarah
and Rachel, his nephew William Latta and grand-niece Jane Latta. He apparently never
married. A considerable portion of the real estate owned by Abraham Sparks was located
in Bureau County, Illinois, and this may be the reason why his brother Joseph migrated
there. Abraham's heirs were listed as: Hannah Bogges, exec. of Jonas Sparks; Philip
Hollar, admin. of Hannah Hollar; Delilah Hughes; Julia Manspeaker, heir of Sarah Sparks;
Mary Morgert; Rachel Kennard; William States, guardian of heirs of John Sparks; and J.
S. Sparks.
Abraham Sparks' estate, examined in the original (Aug. 2, 2026)
The heirs list above circulated for years only as a quotation on a family website. The
actual probate has now been read, and it is not in Bedford County at all: the estate was
administered in Illinois, over the Bureau County land Abraham owned. The
wrapper reads "Report of J. W. Sparks, Administrator of the Estate of Abraham
Sparks — Filed the 11th day of June A.D. 1868 and Recorded in Probate Record A, Page
349," approved the same day by the county judge.
The disbursement ("Contra") page is a roll-call of this family, with dates and
amounts:
Sept. 20, 1858 — "Cash pd Sarah Sparks (heir) … 37.33."
A primary record of Sarah alive, named, and receiving her brother's money two years
before her death.
1859 — Mary Margart [Morgart] (heir), 37.33.
Jan. 1, 1861 — "Rachel Kinard (heir) … 37.00,"
confirming from an independent direction that Sarah's sister Rachel married a
Kennard/Kinard.
Dec. 20, 1864 — "Cash pd Juliana Manspeaker (heir) …
13.88," followed the same day by Delilah Hughes (13.88) and Mary Morgart
(13.88).
Aug. 4, 1865 — Solomon Sparks (heir), 18.50.
Three findings follow. First, the date is real: the December 1864
payment is a dated, court-filed entry, so it fixes the Manspeaker surname before that day
and restores this page's original marriage window of November 1861 × December
1864 — since narrowed to Feb. 1863 × Dec. 1864 by her
mother's own administration account, which still repays "Juliana Hughs" on
Feb. 10, 1863. Second, Abraham died about 1856–57, not later — a claim
against the estate was filed July 7, 1857 and the heirs' payments begin in 1858.
Third, and most elegant: Juliana takes a full sibling's share. Her
$13.88 equals what Abraham's own sisters Delilah and Mary received, meaning she drew her
late mother's entire portion by herself rather than splitting it with her brother
— which is exactly what Sarah's will directed, William having been left a fixed
$200 and Juliana the residue. Sarah's inheritance from Abraham fell
into that residue. The 1865 auditor's report and this Illinois account, made in
different states by different officers, agree perfectly.
The final account, 1867–68 — and "Julia" proved identical to
"Juliana" inside one file. The closing papers give the jurisdiction
outright: "STATE OF ILLINOIS, Bureau County ss. To the Judge of the
County Court of Bureau County… the undersigned, J. W. Sparks for J. S. Sparks
deceased, Administrator of the Estate of Abraham Sparks" — the first
administrator having died mid-administration, which is why a settlement opened in 1857 ran to
1868. The account carries a balance of $154.92 from the last settlement of May 25, 1867 plus
$153.41 in uncollected notes, totalling $308.33. Its disbursements are a complete roll of
Solomon Sparks' surviving lines, numbered as shares:
(1) William States, guardian of the minor heirs of John Sparks, six
shares — $45.62
(2) Sarah Williams, heir of John Sparks — $7.60 (a name new
to this page)
(3) Mary Margart — $2.03
(4) Julia Manspeaker — $2.03 (Aug. 5, 1867)
(5) Delilah Hughs — $2.03
(6) Administrator, Estate of Hannah Hollar — $15.91
(7) Executor, Estate of Solomon Sparks — $34.74
(8) C. D. Trumble, county clerk — $2.50 (a fee, not a share)
The identity question closes here. One probate file pays
"Juliana Manspeaker" in December 1864 and
"Julia Manspeaker" in August 1867 — two clerks, one woman,
the same share. Julia and Juliana are the same person, demonstrated from inside a single
document series rather than inferred across a census, a will and a headstone. And she
draws a full sibling's share, numbered in her own right, for the third time: the 1865
Bedford auditor, the 1864 Illinois payment, and this 1867 share list all place her in her
mother's stead. Two dates also fall out:Solomon Sparks the younger died
between August 1865 and August 1867 (paid in person in 1865, through his executor in
1867), and Hannah Hollar was already dead, her estate taking her share.
Final account, Abraham Sparks' estate, Bureau Co., Ill., 1867–68 —
the numbered shares, with "August 5 … Julia Manspeaker (4) 2.03"
beside Mary Margart, Delilah Hughs, and the estates of Hannah Hollar and Solomon Sparks. The
same file pays "Juliana Manspeaker" in Dec. 1864 — one woman, two clerks'
spellings.Abraham Sparks' estate, Illinois administration account ("Contra" /
disbursements), report of J. W. Sparks filed June 11, 1868, Probate Record A, p. 349 —
"Sept. 1858 20 … Cash pd Sarah Sparks (heir) 37.33"; "Jan. 1861 1
… Rachel Kinard (heir) 37.00"; "Dec. 1864 20 … Cash pd Juliana
Manspeaker (heir) 13.88," with Delilah Hughes and Mary Morgart the same
day.
"Jonas" — a Sparks name, and possibly the key to "Junus
Latty" (noted Aug. 1, 2026). The first heir on that list is
Jonas Sparks — Sarah's brother, Solomon's son, dead by the
time Abraham's estate was distributed (his executor Hannah Bogges stands in his place).
That matters because of the stray "Junus Latty" death record
Westlee turned up at Harrison, Pa., which had no obvious place to sit: Junus is a
plausible clerk's or informant's rendering of Jonas, a name with no
standing in the Latta naming stock (which runs to William, John, Samuel, Ephraim, Abraham,
David) but a settled place in the Sparks naming stock one generation before
Sarah's children. A Latty child named Jonas would be a Sparks-side namesake —
exactly the kind of cross-family naming that marks a real connection, and the same pattern
already visible in this line's Abraham and Rachel
(Solomon's son and Solomon's wife). Worth pursuing as a lead, not yet a finding:
the record's date, age, township and parents' names need to be read off the original
before "Junus Latty" can be placed. Note also that Bedford County has a
Harrison Township, which would put him in the family's own county
— confirm which Harrison the record means.
3. William Henry Harrison Latta (3)
William (2), William (1). Born at Everett, Bedford Co., Pa. December 23, 1840; d.
March 21, 1910 at Wyanet, Manlius, Bureau Co., Illinois. Married Barbara Ellen Garlick
August 25, 1859 in Everett, Bedford Co., PA; she was born November 5, 1839 and died at
Wyanet, Illinois on June 30, 1920. Both buried at Wyanet, Ills. He served in the Civil
War, Private in Co. B, 148th Regt. Vol. Inf. Mustered in August 27, 1863 at
Chambersburg, Pa. Promoted Corporal August 1, 1864 and transferred June 1, 1865 to Co.
I, 53d Regt., Pa. Vol. Inf., and mustered out with a detachment of that company,
honorably discharged June 16, 1865 near Alexandria, Va.
August 2026 — his death documented in two Bureau County records.
His obituary, Bureau County Tribune (Princeton, Ill.), April 8, 1910:
"William Latta passed away at his home in Manlius, March 21 at the age of
sixty-nine years. On the 25th of last August he celebrated his golden wedding
anniversary. On this occasion his friends and relatives presented him with a purse of
gold. He spent two years in the service of his country and was a member of the G.A.R.
camp of Sheffield. He professed a hope in Christ early in life and was a member of the
Christian church. He leaves many friends and relatives to mourn his departure. The
funeral was conducted in the Baptist church in the presence of a large audience after
which the body was taken to the Wyanet cemetery."
The golden-anniversary line independently confirms, to the day, the marriage date
this page has always carried: fifty years before August 25, 1909 is August 25,
1859 — his wedding to Barbara Ellen Garlick at Everett, Pa. Separately, his
probate file (Bureau County Court, April Term 1910; he died testate, the only
one of three generations to leave a will, witnessed by P. J. Anderson and M. F. Schmidt
of Manlius) names his widow Barbara E. Latta, petitioner, legatee and
devisee, and the eight surviving children with 1910 residences: Mary King
(Ohio, Ill.), John H. Latta (Hazelton, Iowa), Carrie B.
Galington (Walnut, Ill.), Ida M. Oloffson (Wyanet, Ill.),
William B. Latta (Stirum, N.D.), Susie M. Latta (Manlius,
Ill.), George D. Latta (Ohio, Ill.), and Blanche M. Heuer
(Princeton, Ill.) — the five children already dead by 1910 properly absent. Source:
FamilySearch, "Bureau, Illinois, United States records," image group 102585568,
image 97 (petition for probate of will, filed April 13, 1910). His county death record
has not yet been located (the pre-1916 index appears not to cover it); the will itself
should sit adjacent to the petition in the same digitized file.
His pension (found Aug. 2026) — and a service detail this page
never had. The federal pension index card ("Latta, William"; widow "Latta, Barbara
E.") gives his service as "D 53 & B 148 Pa. Inf.": when the 148th
Pennsylvania mustered out on June 1, 1865, William — enlisted August 1863 on a
three-year term — still owed service and was transferred to Co. D, 53rd
Pennsylvania Infantry, which mustered out at the end of June near Alexandria.
That reconciles this page's long-standing "discharged June 16, 1865 near Alexandria,
Va." — a date after his own regiment had gone home. He filed his invalid claim
October 10, 1890, from Illinois (application 946,213, certificate
1,088,351), in the great wave of filings under the June 1890 act; Barbara filed her
widow's claim April 4, 1910 — two weeks after his death (application
939,440, certificate 702,758) and drew it through her last decade at
Wyanet. The consolidated file at the National Archives (RG 15) would hold their marriage
proof and family affidavits — another possible witness to his mother's name.
General Index to Pension Files (NARA T288): William Latta, "D 53 & B
148 Pa. Inf."; invalid claim Oct. 10, 1890 (Ill.), cert. 1,088,351; widow Barbara E.
Latta, Apr. 4, 1910 (Ill.), cert. 702,758. FamilySearch, "United States records,"
image group 005080649, image 676.
Thirteen children
18. Sarah Catharine (4) — b. September 17, 1861 near Everett, Pa.; d. December 12,
1862 in Bedford Co., Pa. Buried at Everett, Pa. at Providence Baptist Cemetery on
Bunker Hill Rd., east of Everett (Rt. 30).
19. Mary Jane (4) — b. October 6, 1862 at Everett, Pa.; d. January 14, 1923 at
Ohio, Ills. Buried at Manlius, Ills.; m. James H. King July 6, 1879 in Ohio, Bureau
Co., IL. He was born February 28, 1859 at Everett, Pa.; d. May 26, 1927. Thirteen
children.
20. John Henry Grant (4) — b. June 10, 1866 at Everett, Pa.; d. May 26, 1927 in
East Grove Tp., Lee Co., Ills. Buried at Wyanet, Ills. Married Ida M. Smith February 7,
1899. Twin with Ellen. 1920 Census — East Grove Township, Lee County, Illinois lists
John Latta, age 50, farmer, and wife Ida Latta, age 47. John is also listed in the 1921
Plat Book for owning property at East Grove, Lee Co., IL with his brothers, William B.
Latta and George D. Latta.
21. Ellen Barbara (4) — b. June 10, 1866 at Everett, Pa.; d. June 12, 1866. Buried
at Everett, Pa. Twin with John.
22. Emma Bessie (4) — b. October 16, 1868 at Everett, Pa.; d. August 31, 1884 in
Bureau Co., Ills. Buried at Wyanet, Ills.
23. Ida May (4) — b. November 6, 1870 at Everett, Pa.; m. Francis Alonso Oloffson
on October 30, 1889 in Bureau Co., Ills. He was born June 27, 1868 in Bureau Co., Ills.
Ida May died in 1964. Seven children.
24. Carrie Belle (4) — b. at Everett, Pa. November 6, 1870; m. George Gallentine in
W. Bureau Tp., Bureau Co., Ills. January 11, 1894. In 1936 living at Walnut, Ills.
Seven children.
25. Susan Amanda (4) — b. in Bedford Co., Pa. June 18, 1874; d. July 12, 1933 at
Manlius, Ills. Buried at Walnut, Ills. Married Frederick W. Kreger in Manlius Tp. March
22, 1916. He was born February 22, 1869.
26. Roy (4).
7. William Bartley (4) — b. July 5, 1876. (See below.)
8. George Daniel (4) — b. Nov. 3, 1878. (See below.)
27. Blanche Myrtle (4) — b. January 29, 1880; d. January 29, 1916 in Bureau Co.,
Ills.; m. Frederick T. Heuer in Bureau Co. December 11, 1901. He was born in Germany
May 31, 1877. Five children.
28. Ada Darlene (4) — b. in Bureau Tp., Ills. July 23, 1883; d. March 12, 1884.
Buried at the Forest Hill Cemetery, Wyanet, Illinois.
Dixon Evening Telegram, Dixon, IL — 4/2/1938
4. John Causlett Latta (3)
William Sparks (2), William (1). Born in E. Providence, Bedford Co., Pa. January
18, 1838; died July 3, 1915 — long recorded here as "in Harrold, South Dakota,"
but his 1915 Iowa death certificate (below, found Aug. 2026) shows he died at Waverly,
Bremer Co., Iowa, where he had spent his final two years, and was removed to Harrold,
S.D. for burial on July 4. Married three times:
Wife #1: Caroline E. Day, at Wyanet, Illinois. She died in 1892.
Wife #2: Mrs. Carrie Thompson, in 1894 at Pierre, S. Dak. She died in 1899.
Wife #3: Mrs. Anna Davis, in June 1905. The federal pension index (below) gives her
name as Angeline — "Anna" evidently her everyday form; she filed
her widow's claim September 14, 1916, from South Dakota, as "Latty, Angeline."
August 2026 — his death certificate, found under "Latty." Iowa
certificate of death no. 9-00746 (Bremer County) records "John Latty,"
retired farmer, of 710 S. Elm St., Waverly: born in Pennsylvania Jan. 18, 1838 (an exact
match to this page's record); died July 3, 1915, of chronic interstitial nephritis;
father "William Latty," born Pa.; mother's maiden name "not
known" to the informant, R. E. Latta of Harrold, S.D. — who signed
Latta on the same certificate that records the decedent as Latty: both
spellings of the family name on a single document (see the "Latty" note above). The
1905 South Dakota state census (Pierre, Ward 2, Missouri Ave.: "John Latta," laborer,
age 67, born Penn., father born Penn., married) adds that he had then been 22
years in South Dakota — placing his arrival in Dakota Territory about 1883
— and leaves its birthplace-of-mother line blank, the same information hole
his death certificate would record ten years later as "not known." The
"not known" is unsurprising — his mother died when he was a small boy — but
it means this certificate confirms his father while leaving her given name (Jane Coslet
vs. "Margaret Causlett"; see wife #1 of William (2) above) undecided. Removal to
Harrold, S.D. for burial July 4, 1915: his grave is at Medicine Hill
Cemetery, the rural cemetery serving the Harrold area of Hughes County, closing
the loop between the Iowa death and the South Dakota burial — and it carries
two stones bearing the two spellings of the family name. His
government-issue military headstone reads "CAPT. JOHN LATTY, CO. C, 1
ALA. CAV." — the Army spelled him Latty from his 1862 commission to the stone it
cut for his grave — while the civilian marker beside it reads "CAPT. JOHN
C. LATTA, JAN. 18, 1838 – JULY 3, 1915," matching this page's dates and
the Iowa certificate exactly. He lies under both spellings of his own name.
The two stones at John Causlett Latta's grave, Medicine Hill Cemetery,
Harrold vicinity, Hughes Co., S.D.: the military headstone ("CAPT. JOHN LATTY") and
the civilian marker ("CAPT. JOHN C. LATTA") — both spellings of the family name
over a single grave. Find A Grave annotates the military stone "[sic, Latta]," but
"Latty" was no engraver's slip: it is the spelling that followed him through his Army
service, the 1870 census of his brother's household, and his own 1915 Iowa death
certificate (see the "Latty" note above).John Causlett Latta's Iowa death certificate (no. 9-00746, Bremer Co.,
recorded as "John Latty"): b. Jan. 18, 1838, Pa.; d. July 3, 1915, Waverly; father
"William Latty"; mother "not known"; buried (removal) Harrold, S.D., July 4,
1915. FamilySearch, "Iowa, United States records," image group 102842703, image
1780.
His pension (found Aug. 2026). The federal General Index to Pension
Files carries him under both surnames — cross-filed cards reading
"Latta, John — Latty, John (alias)" and the reverse — with
his two units on each card ("C 1 Ala. Cav. & K 57 Ill. Inf."): the Pension Bureau
treated the two spellings as one legal identity for half a century. He filed his
invalid claim June 23, 1866, from Illinois (application 110,548,
certificate 80,492) — fourteen months after his March 1865 wound
— and drew the pension the rest of his life. His widow Angeline
("Mrs. Anna Davis" of the 1905 marriage) filed September 14, 1916, from South
Dakota (application 1,079,281, certificate 890,162). The full
consolidated file at the National Archives (RG 15) — five decades of affidavits and
the proofs for three marriages — is the deepest untapped record of his life, and
possibly of his mother's name.
General Index to Pension Files (NARA T288): "Latta, John — Latty, John
(alias)" — widow "Latty, Angeline." Invalid claim filed June 23, 1866 (Ill.),
cert. 80,492; widow's claim filed Sept. 14, 1916 (S.Dak.), cert. 890,162. FamilySearch,
"United States records," image group 005080649, images 641 and 832.
Civil War: Company K, 57th Illinois Infantry, and Company C, 1st Alabama Cavalry
(US). John Causlett Latta was born in Pennsylvania, the son of William Sparks Latta and
Margaret Causlett. [On the mother's given name — Margaret vs. the "Jane Coslet" of
his sister's 1911 death certificate — see the wife #1 entry above.] John was a
resident at Manlius, Illinois, when he enlisted as a
corporal on September 27, 1861. Corporal Latta was mustered into Company K, 57th
Illinois Infantry, on December 26, 1861. He was discharged at Corinth, Mississippi,
December 1, 1862, to accept a commission as a 1st Lieutenant. Lieutenant Latty [Latta]
was assigned to Company C, 1st Alabama Cavalry, U.S. Volunteers, December 22, 1862. He
was later promoted to Captain and commander of Company C. About 1864 John married (1)
Caroline E. Day in Illinois. Captain Latta was wounded in action in March 1865 by a
severe gunshot wound to his left arm that required a 30-day leave of absence for
medical treatment and recovery. Captain Latta was mustered out at Huntsville, Alabama,
on October 20, 1865. After the war he returned to Illinois, later moving to Berrien
Springs, Michigan, where he was a member of Kilpatrick Post, No. 39, Grand Army of the
Republic. At some point he relocated to South Dakota. About two years after Caroline's
death in 1892 he married (2) Carrie N. Thompson.
Children
29. Albert G. (4) — b. at Wyanet, Ills. May 21, 1868; lived at Eldorado Springs,
Mo. 1920 Census, for Box, Cedar County, IL lists Albert G. Latta, age 51, single.
Employment not listed. Evidently Albert never married.
30. Frank Lee (4) — b. 1871. Lived at Cincinnatus, N.Y. Route 1. (See below.)
31. Nettie M. (4) — m. Joseph C. Higgins. Lived at Blunt, S. Dak.
32. John W. (4) — b. June 20, 1876; d. 1914; m. Edith Smith.
33. Roy E. (4) — b. at Wyanet, Ills.; m. Mary J. Higgins, May 29, 1900. Lived at
Morrison, Ills.
34. Carrie E. (4) — b. at Wyanet, Ills.; m. Lewis E. Golding. In 1935 lived at
Morrison, Ills.
35. Daisy May (4) — b. at What Cheer, Iowa, January 11, 1883; m. E. Clyde Moore.
36. Unknown (4).
Medicine Hill Cemetery, Harrold, South Dakota
5. David Samuel Latta (3)
William (2), William (1). Born about five miles below Everett, Pa. July 8, 1852; d.
February 9, 1937 in Somerset County, PA. Married Eva Ellen Coughenour February 13,
1881. She was born in Bedford Co., Pa. January 24, 1861 and died February 9, 1937.
Lived at Ray's Cove, Everett, Pa. Route 4. (See
http://www.mindspring.com/~kopff2/dk/ft/Coughenour/I_C_dec.htm.) Eva and David
evidently divorced, because in the 1920 Census, Eva Latta is listed as living in
Brothers Valley, Somerset County, PA, age 59, with two of her sons, Lester L., age 19,
and Elmer, age 16. Lester's employment is listed as "civil engineer corps" and Elmer's
as "miner – coal mines." David is listed in the 1920 Census as living with his
brother, Abraham, in East Providence, Bedford County, PA, as "D", which evidently
stands for "divorced."
Children
37. Dora Belle (4) — b. at William's Station, Somerset Co., Pa. December 17,
1881; m. William Harrison Queer July 11, 1899. Children were John, Harvey, Myrtle, E.
Elmer, Eddie, Floyd, Merle and Carrie.
38. Carrie May (4) — b. at Bard, Pa. May 3, 1884; m. Wilson Millard Shumaker
October 27, 1884. Lived at Cumberland, Md. Children were Elizabeth, William and
Merle.
39. Delilah Myrtle (4) — b. September 24, 1886; m. George Millhouse. Children were
Nellie, Luther, Leora and Evelyn.
40. Frances Jane (4) — b. November 9, 1888; m. William Henry Mathias on December
10, 1907. Lived at Berlin, Pa. Children were Ralph, Samuel, Robert and Harry.
41. Mary Almelia "Minnie" (4) — b. at Connellsville, Pa. January 14, 1891; m.
Walter Earl Wesley on October 20, 1908. Lived at Somerset, Pa. Children were Sue Ellen,
Wilson, and Jenny Elizabeth.
42. Howard Wilson (4) — b. at Connellsville, Pa. May 31, 1893; m. Anna Moffett.
Lived at Uniontown, Pa.
43. Etta Mauda (4) — b. in Somerset Co., Pa. February 8, 1896; m. William Pennell
and Harry Miller. Lived at Cumberland, Md. One child: Harry.
9. Harvey James (4) — b. in Somerset Co., Pa. August 8, 1898; m. Pearl Coffman.
(See below.)
10. Lester Lee Roy (4) — b. in Somerset Co., Pa. January 28, 1901; m. Irene
McCleary. Children were Merle "Buster" and Betty. (See below.)
11. Elmer Wesley (4) — b. at Berlin, Pa. January 15, 1904; m. Philomene Barr on
April 6, 1925. Children were Eugene and Jimmy. (See below.)
44. Bert (4) — half brother of the above. Lives at Everett, Pa.
1880 Bedford Co. Census: D.S. Latta, 28, single, living in Bard, Bedford Co, PA in
the household of James H. Woy. Occupation: Laborer.
The Republic, Meyersdale, PA — Feb. 11, 1937
6. Abraham Latta (3)
William (2), William (1). Born in Bedford Co., Pa. about 1848; m. Margaret Jane
Defibaugh, daughter of William Wilson Deffibaugh, on November 29, 1871. Farmer. Private
in "K" Co. 208th Regt. Pa. Vol. under Capt. Adam Weaverling. Mustered in Sept. 12,
1864, and mustered out with company June 1, 1865. Lived at Ray's Cove, Everett, Pa.
Route 4. In the 1920 Census, Abraham is listed as living in East Providence, Bedford
County, PA. He was 72 years old, widowed, and a farmer. Living with him was his
daughter, Mary, age 45, single, his brother David, 67, divorced, farm laborer, and
grandson Lloyd(?), age 4 years.
Children
45. John (4) — b. about 1872; lived in W. Va.
46. James B. (4) — b. abt. 1876; m. Ida Mills. Lived at Everett, Pa. (See below.)
47. Mary M. (4) — b. Jan. 9, 1874, died Oct. 19, 1925; single.
48. William (4) — b. abt. 1878; m. Bessie Hinish. Lived at Everett, Pa. Route 2.
49. Henry or Perry (4) — b. abt. 1881; m. Blanche Feight. Lived at Everett, Pa.
50. Albert Ross (4) — b. July 8, 1888, died July 20, 1914.
Census note: Abram Latta, 32, laborer; Jane Latta, 28; John Latta, 8; Mary Latta, 6;
James Latta, 4; William Latta, 2. 1910 Bedford Co. Census: Abraham Latta, age 62, born
PA; Dau. Mary M., age 35, born PA; Son Albert, age 21, born PA; FOD Ola Deffibaugh, 8,
born Virginia; Son William Latta, age 31, born PA; Dau-in-law Myrtle, age 19, born PA.
7. William Bartley Latta (4)
William H.H. (3), William (2), William (1). Born in Bedford Co, Pa. July 5, 1876.
Married twice: 1) Estella M. Kolp, January 3, 1900. She was born June 4, 1878 at
Messena, Cass Co., Iowa. Died in West Bureau Tp., Bureau Co., Ills. 2) Amy Darlene
Miller, at Madison, Wis. August 22, 1903. She was born in Bureau Tp., Ills. March 20,
1887. In 1934 lived Ohio, Ills. In the 1920 Census, William was listed as living in
East Grove, Lee County, Illinois, age 43, born in PA, farmer, along with his wife, Amy,
age 32, born in IL; daughter Stella, age 14, born in IL; daughter Amy V., age 12, born
in IL; daughter Eva, age 10, born in ND; son William, age 8, born in ND; son Harry, age
6, born in IL; daughter Margaret, age 4 years 7 months, born in IL; daughter Gladys,
age 3 years 1 month, born in IL; and daughter Hazel, age 6 months, born in IL.
Children by second wife
100. Estella (5) — b. in New Bedford, Bureau Co., Ills. May 22, 1905; m. Simon
Pfeffer, b. at Red Oak, Bureau Co., Ills. July 23, 1894.
51. Amy Violet (5) — b. in Bureau Co., Ills. January 25, 1907; m. Edgar C. Rogers,
b. at Nashville, Tenn. March 31, 1902.
52. Eva Darlene (5) — b. at Stirum, N. Dak. April 22, 1909; d. November 7, 1928.
Buried at Wyanet, Ills.
53. William Irvin (5) — b. at Stirum, N. Dak. March 23, 1911; d. August 1976 in
Harmen, IL (SS. Index); m. Martha Ann Heath May 6, 1930. She was born December 12,
1912. (See below.)
54. Harry Leslie (5) — b. January 13, 1913; d. Dec. 15, 1998 in Sterling, IL (SS.
Index).
55. Margaret Katherine (5) — b. at Sheffield, Ills. April 24, 1915; m. William
Morgan at Sycamore, Ills. July 29, 1933. He was born at Stirling, Ills. May 11, 1912.
56. Gladys Irene (5) — b. at Sheffield, Ills. December 5, 1916. Married Joseph
Hermes.
57. Hazel Gertrude (5) — b. at Amoy, Ills. July 1, 1919. Married Everett Epps.
58. Blanche Helen (5) — b. at Amoy, Ills. November 14, 1921. Married Guy
Pillars.
59. Fern Avis (5) — b. at Amoy, Ills. January 18, 1924; d. March 17, 1926.
Buried at Wyanet, Ills.
60. Kenneth Louis (5) — b. at Amoy, Ills. January 8, 1926.
61. Donald Wayne (5) — b. at Amoy, Ills. July 16, 1929; d. Nov. 24, 1996 in
Amboy, IL (SS. Index).
Dixon Evening Telegram, Dixon, IL — 11/13/1928
8. George Daniel Latta (4)
William H.H. (3), William (2), William (1). Born November 3, 1878 at Wyanet,
Ills., Bureau Co. Married Lucinda Vaughn December 14, 1905. She was born in West
Bureau Tp., Bureau Co., Ills. September 13, 1886. (Per
http://homepages.rootsweb/~smoore/58.htm, George married Nelle L. Vaughn in 1906 in
Bureau Co., IL. She was born Sept. 1885 and died Oct. 14, 1960 in Princeton, IL.)
General mdse. at Bradford and was in partnership at Princeton, Ills. with his son,
Vaughn, breeding and marketing saddle horses. In 1934 lived at 902 West Putnam Street,
Princeton, Ills. George is listed in the 1920 Census as living in East Grove, Lee
County, IL, age 34, born in IL, farmer; wife Nellie, age 33, born in IL; daughter
Dorris, age 13, born in IL; son Vaughn, age 11, born in IL; and daughter Inez, age 8,
born in IL.
Children
62. Doris Fay (5) — b. October 6, 1906 at Manlius, Ills.; m. Henry Keutzer on
September 7, 1925. He was born March 1, 1905. One child: Betty Jane, b. April 24, 1927
at Princeton, Ills.
63. Vaughn Burdette (5) — b. at West Bureau, Ills. November 10, 1908; d. May 1967
(SS. Index).
64. Inez Ilene (5) — b. near Ohio, Lee Co., Ills. November 16, 1912.
George Daniel Latta was murdered at Aledo, Ills. September 18, 1936 by Lawrence
Egbert. See my Scrap Book for particulars. The Grand Jury refused to indict.
The Dispatch, Moline, IL — Sept. 19, 1936
9. Harvey James Latta (4)
David S. (3), William (2), William (1). Born August 8, 1898 in Somerset Co., Pa.;
m. Pearl Coffman. Harvey is listed in the 1920 Census in Dunbar, Fayette County,
Pennsylvania, age 21, born in PA, father born in Scotland, as a miner – coal mines;
wife Pearl, age 21, born in PA; daughter Eva, age 1, born in PA; and son Harvey G., age
2 months, born in PA. In 1930, working for Montgomery Ward Store, Harvey was
transferred to Ashtabula, OH to work at the store there. In 1937, Harvey and his wife
were separated, and he was living in Star City, West Virginia (outside of Morgantown).
Children
65. Eva Ellen (5) — b. May 8, 1918 at Dunbar, Pa.; d. September 28, 1937.
66. Harvey Gordon (5) — b. July 24, 1919 at Dunbar, Pa.; died Feb. 1969 (Soc. Sec.
Index).
67. Lloyd Jackson (5) — b. November 4, 1920 at Dunbar, Pa.; died in accident Sept.
26, 1926.
68. Samuel David (5) — b. February 16, 1922 at Dunbar, Pa.; died with his brother
Lloyd in accident Sept. 26, 1926.
69. Lester Merle (5) — b. May 8, 1923 at Dunbar, Pa.; died Dec. 1980 in Elkton,
Cecil Co., MD (Soc. Sec. Index).
Daily Courier, Connellsville, PA — Sept. 27, 1926The Evening Standard, Uniontown, PA — Feb. 13, 1929The Morning Herald, Uniontown, PAThe Evening Standard, Uniontown, PA — Feb. 24, 1937
10. Lester Leroy Latta (4)
David S. (3), William (2), William (1). Born January 28, 1901 in Somerset Co., Pa.;
died June 28, 1916 in Westmoreland Co., PA; m. Irene McCleary. Lester is listed in the
1920 census as living with his mother in Brothers Valley, Somerset Co., PA. He was 19
and listed as a civil engineer corps.
Children
70. Elizabeth Jane (5) — b. July 30, 1924 at Berlin, Pa.; married Mr. _____
Neff.
71. Merle Leroy (5) — b. November 3, 1926 at Akron, Ohio, 725 Chitty Ave.
The Republic, Meyersdale, PA — July 6, 1961
11. Elmer Wesley Latta (4)
David S. (3), William (2), William (1). Born January 15, 1903 in Berlin, Pa.; m.
Philomene Barr April 6, 1925. Elmer is listed in the 1920 census as living with his
mother in Brothers Valley, Somerset County, PA. He was 16 years old and listed as a
coal miner.
Children
72. Elmer Eugene (5) — b. at Berlin, Pa. February 16, 1925. (See below.)
73. James LeRoy (5) — b. at Somerset, Pa. October 11, 1930. (See below.)
The Daily American, Somerset, PA — April 24, 1954
20. John Henry Grant Latta (4)
William Henry Harrison (3), William (2), William (1). Born June 10, 1866 at
Everett, Pa.; d. May 26, 1927 in East Grove Tp., Lee Co., Ills. Buried at Wyanet, Ills.
Twin with Ellen. John Henry Grant Latta married Ida M. Smith in 1900. They are listed
in the 1900 census in Concord, Bureau County, Illinois — John is 32, and Ida is 26.
They are listed in the 1910 census in Hazleton, Buchanan Co., Iowa. They have no
children. 1920 Census — East Grove Township, Lee County, Illinois lists John Latta,
age 50, farmer, and wife Ida Latta, age 47. John is also listed in the 1921 Plat Book
for owning property at East Grove, Lee Co., IL with his brothers, William B. Latta and
George D. Latta.
30. Frank Lee Latta (4)
John (3), William (2), William (1). Born at Schell City, Missouri, December 14,
1871 (his headstone reads 1870–1945). Died 1945. Buried at Spring Grove Cemetery,
Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio (Sec 115, Lot 407, Space 1). Married Ethel Maude
Hammer.
Frank L. Latta, Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio
Children
74. Leigh Clark (5) — b. 1897; d. 1969. Buried at Spring Grove Cemetery,
Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio (Sec 115, Lot 407, Space 3 — the same family plot as
his father, Frank).
Leigh Clark Latta, Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio
46. James B. Latta (4)
Abraham (3), William (2), William (1). James B. Latta was born about 1879 in
Pennsylvania; married Jessie _____. Lived in Westmoreland Co., PA. In the 1920 Census,
James B. Latta was listed as living in Hempfield, Westmoreland County, PA. He was 40
years old, born in PA, and a laborer in the railroad car shop. Living with him was his
wife Jessie U., age 39, born in PA; daughter Effie, age 17, born in PA; daughter Gladys
L., age 14, born in PA; daughter Helen A., age 12, born in PA; son Ethmer A., age 9,
born in PA; son Eugene W., age 7, born in PA; and daughter Doris J., age 1 year 6
months, born in PA.
Children
76. Effie (5) — b. 1903 in Westmoreland Co., PA.
77. Gladys L. (5) — b. 1905 in Westmoreland Co., PA.
78. Helen A. (5) — b. 1908 in Westmoreland Co., PA.
84. Ethmer A. (5) — b. 1911.
85. Eugene W. (5) — b. 1913.
86. Doris J. (5) — b. 1918.
53. William Irvin "Bud" Latta (5)
William Bartley (4), William H.H. (3), William (2), William (1). Born at Stirum, N.
Dak. March 24, 1911; d. August 1976 in Harmen, IL (SS. Index); m. Martha Ann Heath May
6, 1930. She was born December 12, 1912.
72. Elmer Eugene Latta (5)
Elmer Wesley (4), David S. (3), William (2), William (1). Born at Berlin,
Pennsylvania on February 16, 1925. Married Josephine Darbic.
Children
79. Stanley Eugene (6).
80. Mark (6).
The Daily American, Somerset, PA — Aug. 18, 1953
73. James Leroy Latta (5)
Elmer Wesley (4), David S. (3), William (2), William (1). Born at Somerset, Pa.
October 11, 1930; m. Pauline Smith.
Children
81. Alicia (6) — m. John Soliz.
82. Diane (6).
83. Dwight (6).
74. Leigh Clark Latta (5)
Frank Lee (4), John (3), William (2), William (1). Born 1897; died 1969. Buried at
Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio (Sec 115, Lot 407, Space 3 —
the same family plot as his father, Frank). Married Eleanor Sophia Igler,
born at Glendale, Hamilton Co., Ohio, August 25, 1899; died April 16, 1994, aged 94 —
she survived him by twenty-five years.
Children
87. Leigh, Jr. (6).
88. Roger (6).
89. Kenneth (6).
87. Leigh Clark Latta, Jr. (6)
Leigh Clark (5), Frank Lee (4), John (3), William (2), William (1). Born at Binghamton,
Broome Co., New York, April 22, 1921; died at Glendale, Hamilton Co., Ohio, March 22,
1996, aged 74. Married Cora Virginia Merrell, born 1923; died 2004.
Children
91. Valerie Anne (7).
90. Leigh Clark, III (7) — b. Feb. 24, 1947; d. Apr. 24, 2017.
92. Donald Stewart (7).
93. Gordon Merrell (7).
94. Stephanie Lynn (7).
95. Nancy Jo (7).
96. Virginia Claire (7).
90. Leigh Clark Latta, III (7)
Leigh Clark, Jr. (6), Leigh Clark (5), Frank Lee (4), John (3), William (2),
William (1). Born at Springdale, Hamilton Co., Ohio, February 24, 1947; died at Joseph,
Oregon, April 24, 2017, aged 70. Married Pamela Rydstrom.
Children
97. Leigh Clark, IV (8).
98. Jeffrey Bart (8).
99. Westlee Brent (8).
Notes
This is the end of the branch; below you will find the notes. (1930s note by
Robert H. Latta of Branch #3.) Information 2 to 15 furnished by William H. Ott, 725
Chitty Avenue, Akron, Ohio. His mother was a sister to Barbara E. Garlick, wife of 3.
William H.H. Latta.
