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William Isaac
William Isaac was
born 8 March 1827 [1] in Cocke County, Tennessee, possibly to Smith
Isaac (or Isaacs) and his wife Mary Ballard. It appears that the
Isaac family's travels took them from Tennessee to Ohio, Indiana, and
eventually Platte County, Missouri. There, William married Jane
"Jennie" Netherton on 11 July 1848 [2]. Five years later, on 21
June 1853, William’s younger brother Richard married Jennie’s sister Ruth
in Daviess County, Missouri [2].
William and Jennie’s first child, a son named
Eli Egbert, was born in Platte County in 1849. A daughter, Alice
Annettie, followed in 1851, then daughter Mary in 1853, son John Henry
on 4 July 1856, and daughter Clara in 1858 [3].
Between 1858 and 1860, the Isaacs moved to
California, where they were recorded on the federal census of 1860
for Contra Costa County. William was a farmer, with real estate valued
at $150. William's mother Mary, apparently a widow by this time,
was also in the household, as were several of William's younger siblings
[4].
Late in 1860, Jennie Isaac gave birth to
twins James Albert and Hannah Altha, but they did not survive childhood
[3].
The Isaacs’s last four children were William
Oliver born 1 March 1862, Rachel Louisa (born 1862 and died in childhood)
Edna Luella born 1868 and Alfred Elton born 1870 [3].
By the 1870 federal census, the Isaacs were
living in Gilroy Township, Santa Clara County. The household consisted
of William, a surveyor; his wife Jane, son Eli, daughter Alice and her
husband William B. Steele, daughter Mary, son John H., daughter Clara
J. born 1858, son William Oliver born 1862, daughter Edna L. born 1868
and William's mother Mary, born 1806 in North Carolina [5].
The William Isaac family left Salinas, California,
in the spring of 1875, bound for the Arizona Territory. They
traveled for almost two months in two wagons pulled by four horses each.
On 1 July 1875, they crossed the Colorado River into Arizona. Arriving
in Prescott about a week later, they stayed there for the summer.
In the fall, William Isaac and his grown sons rode south to the Salt River
Valley, where they staked out a homestead west of Phoenix [6].
In the spring of 1876, the Isaacs moved to
Phoenix, where they resided in an adobe house at the corner of Seventh
Avenue and Jackson Street, while the men constructed a house on the homestead.
It consisted of nine rooms and was built of lumber hauled down from Prescott
(unfortunately, it burned to the ground in 1886) [6].
The Isaacs settled on a large spread in the vicinity of what is
now 35th Avenue and McDowell Road, where they raised crops. Since the
railroad would not reach Maricopa south of Phoenix until 1879, the Isaacs
hauled freight from the Southern Pacific railroad terminus at Yuma via
Oatman Flats and Maricopa during the spring and fall months. With
two wagons coupled together and pulled by ten horses, they could haul
six tons of freight. Each round trip took 25 days [6].
Among the household items the Isaacs had
brought with them from California was a four-octave melodeon.
On Sundays, the legs were removed and it was conveyed by buggy to the
South Methodist (now Central Methodist) Church in Phoenix, where it
provided music during the worship services. At least two of the
Isaac children played the melodeon and offered musical entertainment
at home for visiting friends and relatives [6].
The family’s surname appears as ‘Isaacs’
on the federal census of 1880, Arizona Territory, Maricopa County [7].
To ensure that his younger children got an
education, William Isaac founded the Isaac school, which recently celebrated
its 125th year. He served as road overseer of District #1 in 1878
and as county surveyor from 1881 to 1882. He assisted Captain
Hancock in surveying the Grand Canal, and was active in the local Masonic
lodge [8].
The senior Mr. Isaac retired from active farming
around 1890. He died 23 March 1900 of 'dilatation of the heart'
and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery [9].
When the 1900 census was taken on 29 June
1900, William's widow Jennie was living alone in a house in Maricopa
County, Township 2 North, Range 2 East [10]. She died in died in
1902 [1] of the grippe.
Several descendants of William and Jennie
Isaac are also buried in what is now known as the Pioneer & Military
Memorial Park (PMMP) near downtown Phoenix. They include Mary Awilda
Smith, Alice Annettie Kile, Claude Trimble Steele, David Elton Kile
and Katie Ethel Kile [3].
Children of William and Jennie (Netherton) Isaac:
i. Eli Egbert, born 1849 in Missouri.
ii. Alice Annettie, born 1851 in Missouri. Married first
William B. Steele, second David Kile.
iii. Mary Awilda, born 1853 in Missouri. Married William
Smith.
iv. John Henry, born 4 July 1856 in Missouri.
V. Clara Jane, born 1858 in Missouri.
vi. James Albert, born 1860 in California. Died young.
vii. Hannah Altha, born 1860 in California. Died young.
viii. William Oliver, born 1862 in California.
ix. Rachel Louisa, born 1862 in California. Died young.
x. Edna Luella, born 1868 in California.
xi. Alfred Elton, born 1870 in California
Sources Used:
[1] Headstone inscription in the Masonic section of the Pioneer
and Military Memorial Park at 14th Avenue and Jefferson in Phoenix, Arizona.
[2] Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002, database on-line at
Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Original
data from microfilmed Missouri Marriage Records housed in the Missouri
State Archives in Jefferson City, MO, USA.
[3] Email message from Dean R. Isaac to Donna Carr, dated 29
April 2008.
[4] Federal census of 1860, California, Contra Costa County,
Township 2. National Archives microfilm series roll M653_57, page 554,
image 558.
[5] Federal census of 1870, California, Santa Clara County, Gilroy
Township. National Archives microfilm series M593, roll 88, page
78.
[6] “First Musical Instrument in City Four Octave Melodeon Brought
in by the William Isaac Family”, Arizona Republic (newspaper),
Special Pioneer Edition, April 13, 1921.
[7] Federal census of 1880, Arizona Territory, Maricopa County.
National Archives microfilm roll T9-0036, page 92C.
[8] Ritter, Susan L. Walking tour guide to the
Pioneer & Military Memorial Park [pamphlet], published 15 April
2002 and revised August 2006, page 11.
[9] Death Certificate #0-2-53, issued in Phoenix, Maricopa County,
Arizona, for Wm. Isaac, who died 23 March 1900.
[10] Federal census of 1900, Arizona Territory, Maricopa County.
National Archives microfilm series T623, roll 46, page 183.
