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George Washington Archer
1826 - 1912
The earliest information I have on my Archer line is mostly second-hand; I therefore cannot verify it. Benjamin Archer, of Sterling Scotch heritage, was born in either New Jersey or somewhere in England in 1727. He married Sarah Archer, his cousin, in 1748. They subsequently had ten children together while living in New Jersey, but in 1773 Sarah died. This occurred just one month after the birth of their last child, David. Benjamin later married a woman named Charity and had three more children. Benjamin died on December 1, 1780. David eventually married Elizabeth Harvey while still living in New Jersey, and they had eight children together. At some point David and Elizabeth moved to Virginia, where Elizabeth gave birth to William in about 1799. David was a farmer by occupation, and eventually moved the entire family to Logan County, Ohio. David died there in 1821. William continued living in Logan County and married Barbara “Steifel” Boots (“Steifel” means “Boot” in German -at some point Barbara’s family began using the English translation of the surname). Barbara was also originally from Virginia, and had German and Swiss heritage traceable back to the 16th century. William and Barbara were married on August 16, 1816, and continued living in Ohio all their lives. Barbara gave birth to George Washington Archer in 1826 while living in Logan County.William eventually died while only in his 40's of “alcohol consumption”.
Of all the information just mentioned, I am reasonably convinced that George W. Archer’s parents were in fact William Archer and Barbara Boots of Virginia. Despite other discrepancies, it also seems to be the common consensus that William’s father was David, and that David’s father was Benjamin.
The following information I have personally verified by means of land, census, and military records (in most cases I have viewed facsimiles of the documents, so that I can be certain of the information, assuming it was originally documented accurately), obituaries, and by visiting George W. Archer’s grave site. I have also spoken extensively with my grandparents, who both grew up in and near Roger Mills County, Oklahoma.
George Washington Archer was born on February 17th, 1826 in Ohio. His parents were both born in Virginia, probably between 1790 and 1800. George W. was a farmer, a pioneer, and a Civil War veteran. In the mid 19th century, George W. And his first wife, Sarah, moved from Ohio to Putnam County (Grant Township), Missouri. Putnam county was established in 1846 and named after Israel Putnam, a Revolutionary War general. There George W. purchased his first land patent of 40 acres from the U.S. government on April 1, 1856. He purchased a second land patent on April 1, 1857 of 120.9 acres. On the 1870 Federal Census he listed the value of this land at $2,500 and valued his personal estate at $300.
In 1862, as the Civil War raged, the Confederate Army began recruiting citizens behind Union lines within the state of Missouri. In response to this threat, the Federal Government announced the creation of the Enrolled Missouri Militia in July of that same year. This was a part-time, citizen-based militia, whose members were only called into action (and only paid) during times of emergency. Once the new militia was unveiled, Brigadier General John Schofield ordered every able bodied man of military age within the state to immediately report to the nearest military outpost. On August 6th George W. was enrolled at Unionville and immediately called into active service at Hartford. He served in the 45th Regiment of the E.M.M., which was organized in Putnam County and led by Colonel William A. Shelton.
The regiment consisted of 622 men. George W. was relieved on November 7, but was called back into active duty in 1864 from September 29th until November 14th. Unfortunately for George W., members of the E.M.M. were not eligible for Federal pensions after the Civil War was over.
More than likely, shortly after moving to Missouri Sarah died, and George W. eventually married Mariah Polson. Missouri vital records show a child born to George W. and Mariah on May 21, 1888. Mariah was 43 years old, and records indicate that this was her ninth child.
In 1903 one of George W. and Mariah’s sons (Calvin Clayton) moved from Missouri to Roger Mills County, Oklahoma. George W. and Mariah, who were now advanced in years, soon followed their son and daughter-in-law to what was then Oklahoma Territory. In 1909 Calvin and George W. each filed homestead claims for 160 acres of land in Roger Mills county. The Archers helped pioneer this area of the country, which is near the town of Cheyenne today. Three subsequent generations of Archers would be born in and around this part of Oklahoma. George W. died in 1912, and Mariah in 1920. They are buried together in a small cemetery south of Roll, Oklahoma, the land of which was donated by the Music family (related to the Archers by marriage). The little cemetery, now called “Lone Star”, contains tombstones bearing the names of at least four Archers and two Musics.
