This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: LanceDGill1 Surnames: Nuss, Durbin, Conner, McCosh, Emery, Emory, Vandervart Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.pennsylvania.counties.greene/11084/mb.ashx Message Board Post: THE NUSS FAMILY OF GREENE CO., PA AND MARSHALL AND OHIO CO., VA (WV) During my nearly 30 years of research on my family history, I have never been able to discover much about my Nuss ancestors. Recently, I came into contact with Michael Smith of Chicago, IL, who, quite by accident, opened some doors into this search. Out of the blue one day, he emailed me and questioned me about two people named Durbin-Oliver and Leah. He wondered how they were related to him since the family photographs in his possession identified them as "cousins". After some initial conversation, we determined that Oliver and Leah Durbin were children of George H. Durbin and grandchildren of Lucretia Nuss Durbin of Greene Co., PA. Michael's ancestor was George W. Nuss, who was supposedly born in VA and who migrated westward to Warren Co., OH before 1850. Now for the first time, it seemed that there was some information about the Nuss family and its members. I thought it helpful to summarize the basics of what we know and what we suspect here. Lucretia Nuss was born on 15 Oct 1822 and died on 12 Apr 1900. She lived her entire life in Greene Co., PA. She was married around 1844 to James Durbin and had several children. It was always my assumption that George Nuss, who lived in Richhill Twp., Greene Co., PA in 1820, 1830 and 1840, was her father. In the 1820 census, George was the head of the household and reported: 2 males under 10 2 females under 10 2 males 10-16 1 female over 45 1 male 16-18 2 males 18-26 1 male over 45 In the 1830 census, George was the head of the household and reported: 1 male 50-60 2 females 5-10 2 females 10-15 1 female 40-50 In the 1840 census, George was the head of the household and reported: 1 male 60-70 1 female 15-20 1 female 50-60 It is clear from the 1840 census, that George was the only male in the household having been born between 1770 and 1780. The oldest female in the household was presumably his wife, born between 1780 and 1790. Recognizing the fact that not all persons counted within a household were necessarily family members, but if we assume that all the children (those under 18) were children of George, in 1820, George had 5 sons and 2 daughters. By 1830, all the sons were gone leaving only George as the only male in the household with 4 daughters under 15 and their mother. Lucretia, having been born in 1822, could certainly have been one of the females under 10 and the female between 15-20 in 1840. By 1850, George Nuss was apparently dead. This is not hard to believe since he was over 60 in 1840. ************************** George W. Nuss was born on 11 Dec 1810 according to the family bible record in the possession of Michael Smith. He married Nancy Chester or Chesser on 20 Sep 1832. Nancy was born on 14 Sep 1814, They had the following children: 1. William Wesley Nuss (16 Oct 1834-20 Apr 1839) 2. John Christopher Nuss (30 Sep 1835-14 Apr 1903) (**John married Elvira Conner in Washington Co., PA on 17 Mar 1864. He died in Randolph, IN.) 3. George Franklin Nuss (11 Feb 1838-10 Sep 1838) 4. James Nuss (1839-23 Aug 1839) 5. F.P. Nuss (1841-26 Feb 1842) 6. Emily Ann Nuss (Feb 1843-?) 7. David Hess Nuss (23 Dec 1845-3 Jul 1909) (**David married Hannah J. Snook in 1867 in Warren Co., OH.) 8. Mary Louisa Nuss (27 Oct 1848-20 Jan 1920) (**Mary married Joseph H. Conner (24 Jul 1843-15 Mar 1925). 9. Thomas Warren Nuss (1 Mar 1851-?) (**Thomas was married to Minnie L. Knight and was living in Exeter Twp., Clay Co., KS in 1886 when a daughter was born.) Nancy Nuss died on 22 Jan 1853 in Warren Co., OH and was buried in Hopkinsville Cemetery in that county. After her death, George married Elizabeth Hogg or McGuren on 10 Nov 1853 in Warren Co., OH. Elizabeth was a native of Scotland and died in Warren Co., OH in 1893. In 1840, George W. Nuss was head of household living in Lexington Twp., Lafayette Co., MO. In that census, he reported: 1 male under 5 3 females 20-30 1 male 15-20 1 male 20-30 In 1850, George and Nancy were residents of Hamilton Twp., Warren Co., OH with the following household members: G. W. Nuss age 39 b. VA Nancy age 36 b. PA John C. age 14 b. OH Emily A. age 7 b. OH David age 4 b. OH Mary L. age 1 b. OH By 1860, Nancy had died and it seems George soon followed her to the grave. His second wife, Elizabeth was living in Hamilton Twp., Warren Co., OH with two female children, E. L. Nuss, age 9 and H. A. Nuss, age 6. Further research revealed that H.A. was Hannah A. Nuss. This Hannah was born on 24 Jul 1854 in Warren Co., OH and died on 4 Nov 1929 in Mason, Warren Co., OH. She married Martin Walker. According to her death certificate, she was the daughter of George Nuss and Elizabeth Hogg. Where were George W's other children in 1860? John C. Nuss, age 24, was a farm hand living near Beeler Station, Marshall Co., VA (now WV) in the household of Matthew (age 44) and Susan (age 44) McCosh. Both McCosh's were born in PA. What relation with Matthew and/or Susan to John C. Nuss if any? John C. was born in MO according to this census, which makes sense since George W. was in MO in 1840. David Nuss, age 14, was in the household of William (age 75) and Nancy (age 60) Vandervart in Hamilton Twp., Warren Co., OH. What possible relationship David had to the Vandervart's is unknown. The two youngest children, Mary Louisa (age 11) and Thomas W. (age 9) were living in the household of John (age 48) and Louisa (age 43) Emery or Emory in Salem Twp., Warren Co., OH. John was born in VA and Louisa in PA. The most interesting member of this household was 78 year old Hannah Nuss, a native of PA. The presence of Hannah (b. ca 1782) suggests that she may be the mother of Louisa Emery/Emory. Since George's orphan children were living in this household, it appears that Louisa was a Nuss, daughter of Hannah and sister to George W. Hannah Nuss (b. ca 1782 in PA) fits with the reported females living in George Nuss's household in Greene Co., PA in 1820, 1830 and 1840. So it appears based on the evidence presented, that Hannah was the mother of George (b. 1810), Louisa Nuss Emery/Emory (b. ca 1813) and Lucretia Nuss Durbin (b. 1822). Unfortunately, a search of the 1850 census has not yet identified Hannah Nuss and where she was living at that time. Other possible children of George and Hannah Nuss: 1. Susan McCosh (b ca. 1816), possible Aunt of John C. Nuss with whom he was living in 1860 in Marshall Co., VA. 2. Louis or Lewis Nuss (b 11 Jun 1813-1 May 1881) married Mary Emory. Louis was born in VA and died in Champaign Co., IL. Other researchers identify him as being a son of George Nuss but do not identify a mother. Curious that he was married to an Emory and it seems pretty clear that one of our George's daughters, Louise married a John Emery/Emory. Louisa Emery/Emory was born about 1813 as well. Were Louis and Louisa twins who married a sister and brother named Emery/Emory? Other Nuss relatives: 1. John Christopher Nuss, son of George W. and Nancy, has the middle name Christopher. There was a Christopher Nuss (b ca 1802) living in Greene Co., PA. Could he have been a son of George? In 1820, George has a male in his household that would fit. This Christopher died on 5 Jun 1890 aged 87 yr 6 mo and 8 days. 2. Common names always intrigue me as well and suggest a possible family connection. For example, James Nuss (b ca 1806 in VA) and Rhoda Lewis, who were living in Richhill Twp., Greene Co., PA had a daughter named Lucretia (b. ca 1839). Lucretia is an unusual name in general but another Lucretia Nuss living in the same Twp and County in PA as Lucretia Nuss Durbin? What are the chances of them not being related? My guess is that James was Lucretia Durbin's brother and therefore another son of George and Hannah. So could the children of George and Hannah be: 1. Christopher b. ca 1802 2. James b. ca 1806 3. George W. b. 1810 4. Louis b. 1813 5. Louisa Emory b ca 1813 6. Susan McCosh b. ca 1816 7. Lucretia Durbin b. 1822 It is all very interesting and a great place to start a more extensive search. Lance D. Gill Esq. 25 Feb 2009 Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.