This particular court notice from early 1853, Washington County, Indiana, is intriguing because I recognize the family group as the likely children and in-laws of my 5th great-granddad Philip Copple.  At the same time, there is more to research — not all the family group is listed here: why?  Certain heirs are mentioned as not being [any longer] residents of Indiana — I can document some but not all.

Philip’s likely daughter Catherine (ca. 1822 – aft 1900) married a William Sluder (c 1828 – c 1878) in Oct 1849 in Washington County, Indiana.  William’s possible father was Henry Sluder (c 1809 – c 1870).  Was the Henry C. Sluder petitioning for a deed or title bond the same man?  And just what is a title bond?

So, clearly, more to research — but here’s what I do know (below article)…

Jacob was Philip’s eldest son, and was my 4th great grandfather.  Margaret (Copple) Sutherland was a sister of Jacob; her husband was Samuel Sutherland.  The Sutherlands lived near the Jacob Copple household near the Newton / Jasper County line in Missouri in 1850.  So, yes, they were not Indiana residents in February 1853 when this notice was published.  John Copple, a brother to Jacob and to Margaret, was also in Newton County, Missouri in 1850.    So far as I know, though, Abraham Copple, likely son of Philip, married Rosanna Hauger in 1847 in Washington County, Indiana, and resided there in 1850, next to Philip Copple [1] (whose third wife, incidentally, was Catherine Hauger).  

However, since I only recently came across this article, it is possible that I have my Abraham Copples misidentified.  Surely the persons identified in the notice would have known which of their siblings was no longer living in Indiana!  (More research needed here.)  Or, Abraham could have resided a short time outside Indiana in the 1853 time frame, only to return by 1860. 

The other persons mentioned are Joshua Barr [Bare], Betsy Ann Barr [Bare], and Nancy Barr [Bare].  Joshua and Nancy’s names were already familiar to me as the children of the late Nancy (Copple) Bare, another daughter of Philip.  Nancy married in December 1830, so in February 1853, those three children could have been of age.

To summarize, the questions I have which need answering are:

• Do I have Abraham Copple correctly identified?
• What is a title bond?  And why was Henry Sluder fighting for one?  And, if he was indeed the father-in-law of Catherine (Copple) Sluder, why was he involved, and not his son?
• Why weren’t the rest of the heirs involved in this?  Philip had other children living in February 1853, and Nancy (Copple) Bare was survived by additional minor children.

 

“Henry Sluder v Heirs of Phillip Copple,” The Washington Democrat (Salem, Indiana), 11 Feb 1853, pg 3, col 1; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 September 2019)

[1] 1850 U.S. census, Washington County, Indiana, population schedule, Posey Township, page 239 (stamped), dwelling 509, family 522, Abram [“Abren”] Copple household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1850usfedcenancestry/ : accessed 17 October 2019); citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm publication M432, roll 179.