Osa Jane ALLUM

  General Notes:

Document: The death certificate for Osa Jane Allum provides correct information about the name of her father and his state of birth but -- unfortunately for us -- knowledge of the signer does not extend to Osa's mother. Instead of "Osa Jane" on the certificate her name does appear as "Ossie Marie." The informant was Osa's daughter Bessie. While the certificate states Osa was buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago, that appears not to have been accurate; she was cremated with no additional information provided about her ashes.

Note that Bessie states "John Allum" was her mother's husband (and Bessie's own father), but Ossie was married to Isaac Leonard "Len" Allum.

Death Certificate from DeeAnna Allum Granston (obtained by DeeAnna in 1964)



1851 BIRTH of Osa Jane Allum ("Ossie") (sometimes found spelled "Ocie" and "Occie")

1854 DEATH of father, John Allum

1859 DEATH of grandmother, Jemima (Barnhart) Allum

1860 CENSUS, Pennsylvania, Washington County, East Finley Township (June 29) (Osa's mother Nancy is remarried to Jacob Newland) (Jacob "Newel," age 60, "Farmer") (wife "Nancy," age 36) (see immediately below)

By 1860, Nancy had remarried to Jacob Newland, whose name is "Newel" in an 1860 census index. In the Jacob Newland household are three of Nancy's children by John Allum: Manerva, William, and Osa (as "Oca"), age 8. Also in the household is Margaret Newland, Nancy's daughter by Jacob.

In 1860, Nancy's two remaining children by John Allum are in the household of their paternal grandfather, Charles Allum ("Allums"): Malinda [as "Matilda"], age 15, "House Domestic," and her younger brother John [John Erwin Allum], age 11.

1868 DEATH of grandfather, Charles W. Allum

1868 BENEFICIARY in will of grandfather, Charles W. Allum

1870 CENSUS, Illinois, Livingston County, Belle Prairie Township, Fairbury (August 5) (Head of household, John* "Allen" ["Farmer"], age 22, with siblings William, 20, and Osa, 18, mother Nancy (Allum) Newland and Newland children, Margaret, 12; Marietta, 10; Plezzie, 5; and Alfred, 2)

1873 MARRIAGE of Osa Jane "Ossie" Allum to her first cousin, Isaac Leonard Allum (son of William Allum, 1817-1879), on January 31 in Greene County, Pennsylvania by Rev. Job Rossell (noted is that Isaac's residence was Marshall County, West Virginia and Ossie's residence was Livingston County, Illinois)

1880 CENSUS, Iowa, Iowa County, Marengo (June 8) ("Leonard," age 28, "Barber") ("Barber") ("Ossie," age 27, "Dressmaker")

1880s RESIDENCE(s), Illinois -- Woodford County, Livingston County, Iroquois County. Children Mabel, Clayton, Osa Jane "Shirley," and Bessie were all born in Illinois, Mabel in Woodford County, Clayton in Livingston County and Bessie in Iroquois County.

1900 CENSUS, Iowa, Iowa County, Marengo (June 5) ("O. L. Allum," age 49, "Barber") ("Osie," age 48, "Dressmaker")

1904 DEATH of mother Nancy (Cumpston) Allum

1905 CENSUS, Iowa State Census, Bremer County, Waverly ("Ossia," husband "L." Allum, daughters "Ossia," "Bessie," sons "Claton" and Earl") (the Iowa census for 1905 lists names only)

1910 CENSUS, Iowa, Blackhawk County, Waterloo Township, Waterloo (April 15) ("Leonard," age 59, "Barber") (Ossie, age 58, and children in the household) ("Allam" in some census indexes)

1910 CENSUS, Iowa, Boone County, DesMoines Township, Boone (Leonard, "Barber, Shop")

Comment:
Ossie in Blackhawk County, Iowa and Len in Boone County, Iowa supports the information that the couple separated during this time period.
--DeeAnna Allum Granston

1917 DEATH of husband, Isaac Leonard Allum in Los Angeles County, California at 67 years 10 months

1920 CENSUS, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minneapolis (January 2) ("Ossie," age 67, widow, is head of the household with daughters Ossie, 33, and Bessie, 31, son Earl, 29, and Bessie's son, Thurman, age 7)

1930 CENSUS. Where?

1937 DEATH, Osa Jane (Allum) Allum in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois at 86 years 6 months 20 days


*John Erwin Allum (1848-1920), son of John Allum (1823-1854) and Nancy, elder brother of Osa Jane Allum




THE IOWA RECORDER, Greene [Butler County], Iowa, February 19, 1908:

Mrs. L. Allum of Coffeyville, Kansas, who has been visiting her son, C. Allum, went to Waterloo and Marshalltown Thursday, for a visit before returning to her home.



DOCUMENT:

Certification of Death for Osa Jane Allum: No. 27096, State of Illinois

DeeAnna Allum Granston, June 16, 1998 letter to Shirley Allum Hudlicky:

"Through the years it had been in the back of my mind to locate and photograph a gravestone for ' Ossie,' a copy of whose death certificate I obtained in 1964. The certificate cites her place and date of burial in Chicago as 'Rosehill Cemetery, September 25, 1937.' An addendum corrects that to Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. (Both are well-known cemeteries that are actually tourist attractions.) There evolved several phone conversations between myself and a key female individual at Rosehill and a key male individual at Graceland, who were surprisingly gracious in this ' day ' of their being besieged by genealogists--amateur and professional--with requests for information. They checked and re-checked respective cemetery records. Bottom line: Ossie was cremated at Graceland on October 2, 1937. Her remains were returned to the funeral home on October 4, 1937. Though the name of the funeral home is provided on her death certificate, doubt exists its records are to be found. So what is the rest of the story? Ashes buried? (Where?) Scattered? Given to a family member? Certainly at Rosehill and Graceland cemeteries, no marker is found."


Now I am wondering if her burial could be recorded as "Allen" (or a variation) in either Rosehill or Graceland records. --DeeAnna



Shirley Allum Hudlicky, letter to DeeAnna:

"The children of John Allum's marriage with Nancy--at least the younger ones--may have used the surname "Simpson" after Nancy remarried to a Mr. Simpson of Simpson's Store at Washington County, Pennsylvania. Osa Jane Allum signed her name "Osa Simpson" on the marriage license application of her son, Clayton Allum. Osa was the daughter of John Allum and Nancy."


Henrietta "Belle" (Patterson) Allum (1886-1963), wife of Clayton Allum (1884-1963), May 3, 1958 letter to Shirley Allum Hudlicky:

"I have heard Mrs. Allum [Ossie Jane Allum] speak so much of her stepfather, Mr. Simpson, and she even signed her name on our wedding certificate as 'Ossie Simpson.'

"Belle" was a daughter-in-law of Leonard Allum and Ossie Jane Allum. To date, I have not found definitive evidence of a marriage for Ossie's widowed mother Nancy to a Mr. Simpson. Nancy did marry Jacob Newland. --DeeAnna

Osa married Isaac Leonard ALLUM, son of William ALLUM 2nd and Mary Ann FIELDS, on January 31, 1873 in Greene County, Pennsylvania. (Isaac Leonard ALLUM was born in August 1850 in Greene County, Pennsylvania and died on June 24, 1917 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California.)