Welcome! If this is your first visit to our blog, please read our Intro post here. To date we have written posts about all known members of the first, second, and third generations of descendants of William Loney of Co Longford, Ireland and we will continue to add new information about their lives and families in the days and weeks to come.
If you are looking for information on someone in particular, you can use the “Search” feature in the upper right hand corner of this page.
We hope that the information you find here will be helpful to you in your genealogical research. While we make every effort to ensure that what we post is accurate (based on source documents or “reliable” family information), we would be silly to think that we haven’t made any mistakes. If you run across one, please, please, please let us know so we can correct it.
Finally, we remain forever optimistic that someone out there will contact us because they have old Loney family photos to share. We would be especially thrilled to have one of William, Charles, John or Robert Loney or their sister, Ann Loney Cunningham. We are waiting to hear from you!
In a previous post we wrote about Charles Christopher Loney and his wife Evelyn Lillian (Eva) Paul. Today we’ll be sharing what information we have on Evelyn’s paternal ancestors.
Eva’s parents were Rev. Thomas Paul and Susan Frances Ellis.
Thomas Paul was born 19 Dec, 1828 in Monroe County, VA. Some online family trees list the specific location of Thomas’ birth as Hans Creek. When we Google “Hans Creek” it appears to be just that – a creek so we believe the Pauls lived in that vicinity.
Thomas was the third known child of Rev Joseph Paul and Mary “Polly” E. Cummins (both natives of Virginia). Joseph Paul was born 23 or 25 Mar, 1806. Mary E. Cummins was born 6 Dec, 1805. They married 17 Aug, 1824.
In 1830, when Thomas would have been just a baby, the Pauls moved to Indiana and settled in Henry Co where they lived for the next fifteen years. In 1845 they moved once again, this time to Wapello Co and then Mahaska Co, both in Iowa.
Joseph Paul (Thomas’ father and Eva’s grandfather), who was said to be a “frontiersman by nature”. In 1862 he and his wife joined the Kennedy Wagon Train (also called the Train of Innocents) and crossed the plains from Fremont, Iowa to Washington. Thomas Paul, his first wife, Elizabeth Mortimore, and their five children joined them. The trip took five months and the pioneers endured many hardships – murder, stampedes, hunting accidents, and Indian attacks (although it is also said that the Indians were afraid to attack such a large group – some 50 wagons).
Thomas served as the wagon train’s reverend. Sadly, during the trip Elizabeth died in childbirth. Her body, like so many others, had to be left buried on the great plain.
Also on the train was Eva’s mother, Susan Frances Ellis. Her first husband, Eli Zaring, had died in Iowa and Susan made the trip west with her two children and other members of the Ellis family (including her mother). Thomas and Susan married in Walla Walla 6 Jan, 1863.
Both Joseph and Thomas Paul settled in the Dry Creek section of Walla Walla County. Joseph Paul died 4 March, 1885 at age 79. His wife, Mary “Polly” Cummins Paul, died 13 Feb, 1887 at the age of 81.
Joseph and Mary are buried together in Mountain View Cemetery, Walla Walla, Plot 15-8-18 and 15-8-4.
Excerpts from An Illustrated History of the State of Washington by Harvey K. Hines provide some additional information about Thomas…
“THOMAS PAUL a pioneer and honored citizen of Walla Walla county Washington…
After reaching Washington Thomas bought a right to 160 acres proved up the land and ever since has continued here where lie now has 430 acres of fine land in the Dry Creek bottoms of Walla Walla valley. Here he has made many improvements; has erected a nice residence barn, and all of the outbuildings necessary for the proper conducting of a first class farm and here he secures great yields of grain and hay and also some livestock. Owing to the pioneer settlements made by his father he never had much chance for an education and has been obliged to get along with what was imparted to him in the little log schoolhouse of Indiana.
Thomas has had many troubles, and it required much management to secure a start in a new country with a large family, but he has succeeded and may be proud of his family of boys and girls. For the last thirty years I have been a local preacher and officiates when he is called upon, believing this to be his duty.
The first presidential vote of Thomas was cast for James Buchanan, but at the opening of the Rebellion he changed his views and has since been a straight-out Republican. He has never devoted much time to politics, merely voting to assist in the election of the men who will do the best work for the country.”
Thomas Paul died 29 Sept, 1904 in Walla Walla.
Mountain View Plot 15-8-3
In the 1910 census Susan Ellis Paul was living with her granddaughter at 330 Newell in Walla Walla. That same year the 1910 Spokane City Directory shows her at 917 13th Ave in Spokane. Zillow reports that the house was built in 1906 and today is just 200 yards from a pizza parlor. It also says that there are 250 year old trees in the yard.
917 W 13th
Susan died 7 May, 1916 in Colville, Stevens, WA. Her obituary is below.
The Colville Examiner, 13 May, 1916
Susan is buried in also buried in Mt. View cemetery.
Cummins
As we mentioned earlier, Thomas Paul (Eva’s father) was the third known child of Rev Joseph Paul and Mary “Polly” E. Cummins.
Mary E. Cummins was the daughter of Robert Cummins and Delphia Ballard or Delphia Ballard/Boling. Robert was born in 1772 in Maryland and Delphia was born 1762 in Orange Co, VA. They were married 1795 in Albemarle Co, VA. Delphia died 26 Jul, 1812 in Monroe, Amherst Co, VA. Robert died 21 Jun, 1841, also in Monroe.
Those who are interested in reading more about Delphia/the Ballards might enjoy this 2006 post and associated comments we found.
Do you have additional information on the Pauls, Cummins, or Ballards? We’d love to hear from them!
In our next post we’ll be writing about Eva’s Paul’s maternal ancestors – the Ellises and Farmers.
Loney Family from County Longford, Ireland 