Data Summary:

Full Name: Laura Jane McFann
Born: 15 April 1856, in Greene Co PA
Died: 16 July 1940, in North Manchester, IN
Burial: Oaklawn Cemetery, North Manchester, IN
Places of Residence: North Manchester, Wabash Co, IN

Father: Asa B. McFann
Born: 2 July 1826, in Waynesbury, Greene Co, PA
Died: 3 November 1912, in Lafayette, IN

Mother: Amanda A. Martin
Born: 13 May 1830, in PA
Died: 1 November 1885, in Wabash Co, IN

Melvin O. Lower
Born: 22 January 1852, in Columbiana Co, OH
Died: 31 May 1908
Burial: Oaklawn Cemetery, North Manchester, IN
Date of Marriage: 7 December 1876

Ada M. Lower
Born: 29 April 1879, in Wabash Co, IN
Died: 25 January 1905
Burial: Oaklawn Cemetery, North Manchester, IN

Ethel L. Lower
Born: June 1887, in Wabash Co, IN

Sources:

1860: in the household of her father, Asa B. McFann, in Chester township, Wabash Co, IN (pg 345, household 771).
1870: in the household of Asa B. McFann, Chester township, Wabash Co, IN (pg 5, household 61).
1880: in the household of her husband, Melvin Lower, in North Manchester, Chester township, Wabash Co, IN (Enumeration District 183, sheet 47 [page 236], family 493).
1900: in the household of her husband, Melvin Lower, in North Manchester, Chester township, Wabash Co, IN (Enumeration District 114, sheet 13, family 356).
1910: in North Manchester, Chester township, Wabash Co, IN (National Archives Microfilm T 624, Roll 386, Wabash Co, IN, Enumeration District 143, sheet 14 B, family 123).

Marriage License, Melvin O. Lower to Laura J. McFann (7 December 1876), Book 8, page 580, Wabash County Court. I obtained a photocopy from the County Clerk. The book and page number reported here was taken from Wabash County Marriages (cited below) because the County Clerk did not supply (or require) that information.

Wabash County Marriages: 1835--1899, compiled by Larry and Cynthia Scheuer (Warsaw, IN: Scheuer Publications, 1996). Contains the information from the Wabash County record books of the marriage of Laura J. McFann to Melvin O. Lower, including the book and page number of the original record. Linda Thompson looked up this record and sent me the information.

Abstracts: Bender Funeral Home, North Manchester, Indiana: 1922--1981, Edited by Linda Robertson (Wabash, IN: Wabash Carnegie Public Library, 1983). Contains a record for Laura Jane Lower, giving dates of birth and death, and the names of her husband and parents. Linda Thompson looked up this record and sent me the information.

Wabash County Death Records: July 1939 - October 1949, compiled by Linda Thompson (Scheuer Publicatons). Contains an abstract of the death record of Laura Jane Lower on page 20, line 173.

Binnie, Lester H., Cemetery Records for Chester Township, Wabash County, Indiana, Revised Edition (North Manchester, 1983). Contains Oaklawn Cemetery inscriptions for Melvin O., Laura J., and Ada M. Lower.

Biographical sketch of Dr. Melvin O. Lower in Biographical Memoirs of Wabash County, Indiana (Chicago: B. F. Bowen, 1901), pages 541--2. Linda Thompson found this article and sent me a copy.

Laura J. (McFann) Lower and Amanda (Martin) McFann, date unkown, photograph in the possession of Gene Goff, scanned by his daugher, Anne Lipp.

Laura J. (McFann) Lower, Ethel L. (Lower) Gidley, and Robert Lower Gidley, date unkown, photograph in the possession of Gene Goff, scanned by Gene's daugher, Anne Lipp.

Notes and Credits:

1. I am grateful to Linda Thompson for all her time and effort looking things up for me.

2. Laura McFann's middle name (Jane) and date of death were taken from the abstract of her death record in Wabash County Death Records (cited above). The information was supplied by Wabash County Lookup volunteer Linda Thompson (who, I am assuming, is also the author).

3. Laura McFann's date of birth was given by her father on the 1898 circular in his pension file. Her date of birth was also given on the death record cited in note 2.

4. Sources of information on Asa B. McFann and Amanda Martin will be found on Asa B. McFann's Family Page