Saturday, March 17, 2012

Surname Saturday – Ancestor #12 – Michael Heman Yawman


One of my goals for 2012 is to use the Surname Saturday blogging prompt as a way to assure that I spend some time researching each of my family lines and that I have appropriate source citations for the genealogical facts related to my ancestors. I’ve decided to use my ahnentafel report and work back through the generations starting with my grandparents, writing a summary of each ancestor. If you discovered this post through a search engine and find one of your ancestors listed here, please leave a comment to let me know.

My maternal great-grandfather Michael Heman YAWMAN was born 18 October 1842, in Rochester, Monroe County, New York,[1] the fifth child of Andrew and Catherine (SITTERLY) YAWMAN.[2]

The Yawman family had moved to Minnesota by 1857[3] and that is where Michael spent his late teens and early adulthood.[4]

During the Civil War, he served as a private in the 1st Minnesota Infantry and on 21 July 1861 was mistakenly reported as being killed in action during the Battle of Bull Run. It was later reported that he had been taken prisoner by the Confederate army. He was part of a prisoner exchange which took place just prior to the battle at Gettysburg in 1863. He was reported as a deserter as of July 31st of that year.[5] I have not ordered Michael’s military records hoping they will soon be available online! My cousin Gary Yawman (who has ordered the records) reports that Michael spent 11 months in Libby Prison before his exchange back to the Union army.

Following the war, Michael married Nancy Burton on 12 June 1866 at Kingston in Meeker County, Minnesota.[6] Michael and Nancy had eleven children:
  • James Andrew (1867-1911)[7]
  • Catherine Margaret (1869-after 1900)[8]
  • William Lee (1870-1948)[9] – my grandfather
  • Chris Bell (1872-before 1880)[10]
  • Mary Elizabeth (1874-unknown)[11]
  • Michael Hamen (1875-1922)
  • Nora Yawman (1878-1968)
  • Martha Henrietta (1879-1948)
  • Charles Frederick (1881-1956)[12]
  • Georgia An (1882-1968)[13]
  • John Joseph (1885-1959)

The family appears to have moved frequently. The first two children are reported to have been born in Minnesota. On 2 June 1870, the family was enumerated in Union Township, Union County, Iowa[14]; however, their third child, William, is reported to have been born in Missouri.  In 1875, they were in Swan Lake, Meeker County, Minnesota.[15] By 1880, they were in Denison, Grayson County, Texas.[16] The final move by 1895 was to Parsons, Labette County, Kansas,[17] where Michael remained until his death.

Michael made his living as a shoemaker. But in 1886 he was appointed chief of the Denison (TX) Fire Department![18]

Michael died on 8 January 1913 and was buried on 11 January 1913[19] at Oakwood Cemetery in Parsons, Labette County, Kansas.[20]

Although I have quite a bit of information on this Yawman family, there are still areas for further research:
  • I hope that the records for Michael’s military service and pension application are digitized soon. I would prefer not to order them from NARA as it is becoming increasing expensive to get these records.
  • Hopefully I will be able to find more tidbits of information about his life from additional newspaper research.
  • I definitely need to spend some time conducting further research on his children.



[1] findagrave.com, digital images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 Oct 2011), Michael Heman Yawman, Memorial# 21259594, created by Gary A. Yawman, 30 Aug 2007.
[2] 1850 U.S. census, population schedule, Rochester, Monroe, New York, p. 11B, dwelling 128, family 160, household of Andrew Yawman; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 Nov 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll 530.
[3] 1857 MN Territorial Census, Ramsey, Minnesota, population schedule, St. Paul, dwelling 447, family 447, household of J. Murray; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 Nov 2009).
[4] 1860 U.S. census, Ramsey, Minnesota, population schedule, St. Paul, p. 95, dwelling 871, family 770, household of A. Yawman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 Nov 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll 573.
[5] Minnesota, Civil War Records, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Minnesota Civil War Muster Rolls. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society.
[6] Meeker, Minnesota, marriage certificate no. A2-40 (1866), Yowman-Burton; Meeker County Treasurer's Office, Litchfield.
[7] findagrave.com, digital images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 23 Aug 2011), James Andres Yawman, Memorial #21259152, created by Gary Yawman, 30 Aug 2007. 
[8] 1900 U.S. census, Todd, Minnesota, population schedule, Eagle Bend, enumeration district (ED) 189, sheet 6B, dwelling 123, family 123, household of Robert G. Brickey; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Nov 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll T623_794.
[9] Los Angeles County, California, death certificate no. 1659 (1948), William Lee Yawman; County of Los Angeles, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Norwalk.
[10] "Minnesota Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905," database and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Nov 2009), entry for Michael Yawman.
[11] 1880 U.S. census, Grayson, Texas, population schedule, Denison, enumeration district (ED) 8, p. 7, dwelling 24, family 26, household of Michael Yawman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Nov 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll T9_1306.
[12] findagrave.com, digital images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 23 Aug 2011), Charles Frederick Yawman, Sr., Memorial #21259398, created by Gary Yawman, 30 Aug 2007.
[13] findagrave.com, digital images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 23 Aug 2011), Georgia A. Yawman, Memorial #61622753, created by Steve McCray, 14 Nov 2010.
[14] 1870 U.S. census, Union, Iowa, population schedule, Union, p. 163, dwelling 5, family 6, household of M. Yawman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Nov 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M593, roll 421.
[15] "Minnesota Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905," database and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Nov 2009), entry for Michael Yawman.
[16] 1880 U.S. census, Grayson, Texas, population schedule, Denison, enumeration district (ED) 8, p. 7, dwelling 24, family 26, household of Michael Yawman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Nov 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 1306.
[17] Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925, Labette, Kansas, 1895 population schedule, Parsons, p. 30, dwelling 5, family 5, household of M. Yawman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 Nov 2009).
[18] "From Denison," Dallas Morning News, 8 May 1886, p. 1, col. 5; digital images, GenealogyBank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 4 Feb 2011).
[19] Labette County, Kansas, death certificate no. 13 (1913), Mike Yawman; Kansas Board of Health.
[20] findagrave.com, digital images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 Oct 2011), Michael Heman Yawman, Memorial# 21259594, created by Gary A. Yawman, 30 Aug 2007.


© 2012 Denise Spurlock

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