Documented Life     Ancestors - Troper and Hochstein Genealogies

Ancestors of Miles Hochstein (Great Great Great Grandmother)

Polly (Shires) Bland
(b. ca 1785, Monroe, Virginia (modern West Virginia),
d. ? (but after 1833), Knox County, Illinois)

Polly (aka Mary) Shires was born circa 1785, in Monroe, Virginia, which today is in West Virginia.

"Polly" is a nickname for "Mary", the same name given to her daughter Mary Ann (Bland) Smith.

In one online listing it appears that the same person's name is spelled "Shears", and she is listed as Polly Shears.

Polly Shires' marriage to Joshua Bland occured on 27 October 1807 in Monroe, Virginia.

Six children are listed in the International Geneaological Index of the LDS, Sarah Jane (1811), Rebecca (1814), Mary Ann (1818, great great grandmother of Miles Hochstein), Simprina (1820), Hannah (1822, and also the name of Mary Ann's later child), and Nancy (1824).

Her daughter Mary Ann Bland was born in 1818 in Williamsport, Virginia.

Her daughter Simprina Bland was born in 1820 in Crawford County, Indiana.

In 1833 Joshua Bland, Polly Shires and family moved to Knox, Illinois, and resided on a farm in a section south of Galesburg and just before Abingdon, in Cedar Township. (Source: Jane McGuire, descendant of Simprina Bland, gx3 granddaughter of Joshua Bland).

What circumstances would cause a family, of farmers or millers, to migrate to Knox County Illinois in 1833? I speculate that her husband Joshua Bland's involvement in the Black Hawk war of 1831-1832 enabled him to locate the land on which they staked a claim. But it would appear that the family was already moving toward the west before 1833, having migrated from Virginia to Indiana by 1820 as evidenced by the birth of her daughter Mary Ann in 1818 in Williamsport Virginia, and the birth of her daughter Simprina in Indiana in 1820.

In Knox County, Illinois, in the years after 1833, at the headwaters of Branch Creek, Polly (Shires) Bland and her family built and operated a horse powered corn mill (aka a "corn cracker.") (See documentation on her husband Joshua Bland's page.)

On early Spring, on 17 April 1840 in Knox County Illinois, at about the age of 65, she would have witnessed the wedding of her daughter Mary Ann Bland (age 22) to a young man named Samuel Smith (age 24). Her new son-in-law Samuel Smith and daughter Mary Ann departed soon therafter for Iowa, reaching Washington County, Iowa by the fall of 1840 and wintering there. They would then migrate through several other Iowa counties and become some of the very first non-native settlers of Hardin County Iowa in 1850 (see their pages for details.)

I wonder if Polly Shires' daughter Mary Ann (Bland) Smith remained in touch through letters and whether somewhere her letters home survive in a family archive?

I wonder if it was possible to travel from Hardin County Iowa back to Knox County Illinois, and whether she ever did so?

Polly Shires is reported to be buried on the family farm which would be section 16 in the Cedar township. Section 16 can be seen on this 1870 external map of the land owned by Joshua Bland. He died in 1843, hence his name does not appear on the map.

Daughter of ____?

Sibling of ___?

Wife of Joshua Bland, married on 27 October 1807.

Mother of Mary Ann (Bland) Smith and others, as shown below.

The following are associated with parents Joshua Bland and Polly Shires
1. Sarah Jane Bland - b. 1811 Monroe, Virginia?
2. Rebecca Bland - : b. abt. 1814 Monroe, Virginia?
3. Mary Ann Bland - b. Abt. 1818, Williamsport, Virginia
4. Simprina Bland - b. Abt. 1820, born in Crawford County, Indiana
5. Hannah Bland - b. Abt. 1822
6. Nancy Bland - b. Abt. 1824

(Data unverified: Source ="International Genealogical Index")

For additional information see her husband Joshua Bland's web page.

Note: Joshua Bland and Polly Shires were both born in Virginia while Samuel Smith had Virgnia roots (parents born in Virginia, while he was born in Ohio). Both families passed through Ohio and Indiana prior to reaching Knox Illinois where the marriage of Samuel Smith and Mary Ann Bland took place in April 1840. Subsequent generations of my lineage continued the steady westward movement into Iowa and then to South Dakota. I don't know what to make of that parallel migration pattern from Virginia to Knox Illinois. Perhaps the families knew each other for years, but geographically speaking this was also the obvious route westward from Virginia and it seems equally likely that they were all part of the general westward migration of the 19th century.

Link to modern day Monroe County, West Virginia.

 

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revised March 2004

 

 

BELOW FROM MORMON FAMILY DATA BASE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Samuel Smith
Mary Ann BLAND

Marriage: 17 Apr 1840 Knox, Illinois

Source for above: Mormon data base
Batch number: Dates Source Call No. Type Printout Call No. Type M537811 1830-1845 1404972 Film NONE

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mary Bland
Born
Misc: Abt. 1818 Of, Monroe, Virginia
Father: Joshua BLAND
Mother: Polly SHIRES

Source Information:
Batch number:DatesSource Call No.TypePrintout Call No.Type
F515683-1553676 FilmNONE

THE ABOVE FITS BECAUSE THE BIRTH DATE IS 1818, TWO YEARS AFTER SAMUEL SMITH, AND BECAUSE THE FATHER'S NAME IS THE SAME "JOSHUA BLAND" AS GIVEN IN HARDIN COUNTY IOWA RECORDS AND BECAUSE THE PLACE OF BIRTH IS SAME AS IN HARDIN COUNTY IOWA RECORDS.

THE COUNTY OF "MONROE" IS NEW INFORMATION.----------------------
Polly Shires
Misc: Abt. 1785 Of, Monroe, Virginia
Marriages: Spouse: Joshua BLAND
Batch number: Dates Source Call No. Type Printout Call No. Type F515683 - 1553676 Film NONE Sheet: 49

----------------------------------
Polly Shires
Sex: F
Spouse: Joshua BLAND
Marriage: 27 Oct 1807 Monroe, Virginia

-----------------------------------
Joshua Bland
Misc: Abt. 1783 Of, Monroe, Virginia
Parents:
Father: Robert BLAND
Mother: Mrs. Anna BLAND

SOURCE:
Batch number: Dates Source Call No. Type Printout Call No. Type F515683 - 1553676 Film NONE Sheet: 50

SOME RECORDS SAY WEST VIRGINIA, SOME SAY JUST VIRGINIA, BUT PARENTS ARE THE SAME IN BOTH... WAS WEST VIRGINIA PART OF VIRGINIA AT SOME POINT? Yes, until 1860 or so and the civil war, hence confusion
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Robert Bland and Mrs. Anna Bland
were married Abt. 1783 at Peters Mtn Valle, Monroe, West Virginia

They had at least one other son, named Robert Bland, in addition to Joshua Bland

Another record has Robert Bland with
Spouse: Anne
Marriage: Abt. 1783 Virginia

Once again... was it Va, West Va, or were they the same? Where is Peters Mtn Valle?

Another or similar record
Spouse: Mrs. Anna BLAND Marriage: Abt. 1783 Peters Mtn Valle, Monroe, West Virginia
Their son Joshua Bland was born about 1783
and their son Robert Bland ("jr") was born in 1784.

THE HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA
http://www.polsci.wvu.edu/wv/Monroe/monrhistory.html

--------------------------------
The next generation back may be represented by still another Robert Bland
Birth: 1760 Peters Mountain, Monroe, West Virginia.... The father of this Robert Bland was ALSO named Robert Bland....

Other sources have a Robert Bland born
Abt. 1757 Of, Monroe, Virginia, presumably the same as above.

This above is probably the same 3rd back Robert Bland...

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There is a large gedcom "Bland" file at this location:
http://kcrichardson.freeyellow.com/index1.htm

---------------------------------

http://kcrichardson.freeyellow.com/index1.htm
The family of Joshua Bland (parents and sibblings included

Robert BLAND [Parents] was born in Peters Mountain, Monroe, West Virginia. He died. Robert married Anna about 1783 in Peters Mtn Valle, Monroe, West Virginia.

Anna married Robert BLAND about 1783 in Peters Mtn Valle, Monroe, West Virginia.
They had the following children:

MiRobert BLAND was born 1784 in Peters Mountain, Monroe, West Virginia. He died 23 Sep 1857 in Monroe, West Virginia.
MiiJoshua BLAND
iiiChild BLAND was born about 1790 in Monroe Co., Virginia.
FivEsther E. BLAND
MvJames BLAND

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Polly Shires, listed in LDS data base as born
"Abt. 1785 Of, Monroe, Virginia"
http://www.familysearch.com/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp