Martha Jane Angeline Gist's Death Certificate

Martha “Jane” Anjeline Gist was born to Arron Gist and Margaret Shonkwiler ,both of whom were in their second marriage.
Martha was born 6 Jul 1848 in Van Buren, Crawford County, Arkansas, USA and would live during one of Americas most horrific and unsettling times namely the Civil War,

At a ripe old age of 12 the civil war began and at 15 her family would have to move to brown county in Kansas due to the civil war being at their doorstep literally. In her memoirs she speaks of bushwhackers raiding her families house and stealing all the valuables, food, clothing or anything with intrinsic value that could be traded or sold. He tells of the murder of her uncle David Shonkwiler even though her father, who was crippled in a sorghum mill accident losing his left arm, escaped unnoticed by those very bushwhackers. She tells also of the escape of her brother in law Charles C Smith whom jumped out of a window bootless and wearing only underclothing while the dog whom thought he was playing hide and go seek darted off over the fence rails and gave Charles time to hide in a hollowed out tree stump cave the kids used to play hide and seek with the dog.

That is not the end of the story either, when the war ended in 1865 and the family returned to their devastated farm missing the Head of the house, Arron Gist who was presumed dead(but not only headed north ), and after two years separated reuniting her sister Lucy Elizabeth Gist with her husband Charles C Smith(whom was defected from the confederate army and done serving the union army) to be farming the little farm close to the family farm that was completely devastated) Life was finally getting back to normal.

First Husband: William Clayborn Chappell
She married March 8, 1868 and soon thereafter was pregnant. Not long after the bushwhackers came back and murdered William(though it appears he lived in Texas afterwards

The story Martha told was while he was sitting on the porch in the fall of 1868 3 years after the civil war had ended bushWhackered killed him . Those were perilous times indeed. The following year on March 11, 1869 Henry Zaddock Chappell was born. Life needed a change and it must have seemed safer to move out west Henry would be around 3 months old (mining claims Were the draw) and settle in a new place than to pick up the broken pieces of the family which was missing even the very head of it, Aaron Gist was still missing.
SO they went west. 80 wagons 500 head of cattle 114 men and unnumbered women and children

Lucy Ann Elizabeth and Charles smith, unnamed brother and his wife”possibly Susie”and family and
2 unmarried brothers, Winapark "Park" H Butler and Aaron gist jr, her mother Margaret Shonkwiler and her new born baby Henry Zeddock Chappell
First Child Henry Zeddock Chappell
Second Husband:Abraham Aaron Charlton Jr.
they finally got to Bakersfield California and that is where she met my second great grandfather

2nd husband Abraham Aaron Charlton Jr and were married having two children:
Second Child :Martha Perlina “Mattie”Charlton 1871 1965
Third Child: William Aaron Charlton 1873 1952

They sold everything off in Bakersfield except around 100 horses and Settled at Williamson valley ”cross triangle” ranch near Prescott, Arizona. they had a winter home as well called lone oak apple orchard
The remainder of her children were born on these ranches:
Fourth Child: Alfred Stephen Charlton Sr 1876 1960
Fifth Child: Lee Annie Charlton 1878 1952
(whom helped compile 3 iterations of memoirs with two others Maude and another then wrote the "Remeninces(sic)of Martha Jane Gist Charlton during the winter of 1941 and spring of 1942 in Liberty, Arizona)
Sixth Child: John Franklin "Frank" Charlton 1881 – 1921
Seventh and final child: Louis Abraham Charlton 1884 – 1958

Divorce filed from Abraham A Charlton JR. in 1893 according to Nancy Charlton and letters she transcribed;
"Abraham or as he was referred to as Ham, left Hickory Co. in the 1850's, he went to California with his brothers, Samuel and Calvin. In letters that he wrote back home it seemed that he was in very poor health(possibly tb which it’s said the Indians cured) In one of his letters he was writing from Placerville and seemed to be working a silver mine called the Moonlight Lady. Elvia evidently died before 1871 as his first child with Martha Jane Gist was born,. in 1871. In 1893 Abram Charlton and his wife Martha wanted two divorces or rather each wanted one. Judge Gooding decided that neither should have one but substituted instead a good lecture. Charlton is an old farmer living on the Buckeye. He is crippled in body and possibly his mental faculties should be supported by crutches or carried in a sling(he had cancer of the bone which eventually had his leg amputated). A month ago he filed a petition for a divorce, giving various reasons. The wife had filed a cross complaint in which she charged Charlton with Savagery, Insanity and threats, evidently she received the divorce as she married John Murdock shortly after. "

records support this:
1900 United States Federal Census(John M Murdoch has the Charlton children listed as his Step children and Martha as his wife
Web: Western States Marriage Index, 1809-2011 (shows she married Murdoch in 1896) as well as her Memoirs

In the "Reminiences of Martha Jane Gist" written by Lee Annie (Charlton) Sanders in the winter of 1941 and spring of 1942 while Lee Annie and her sister nursed her at Lee Annie's house in Liberty, Arizona.

1899 Age: 51 Address Fort McDowell, Maricopa, Arizona, USA
after Abraham died in 1899 Martha sold the liberty ranch and moved to Fort McDowell where she farmed for a few years.(It is implied that she married Murdoch and moved to Fort McDowell but because their kids couldn't get along they separated) This is very sketchy but it appears that she lived in cave creek precinct in 1900 and then in 1910 she moved into her daughters place in liberty and sold her liberty ranch,
There is no record of her divorcing Murdoch that I have found yet.
She then married Joseph P Hoffman in Phoenix Arizona in 1921
And drove a model t to northern California
She then Moved in with her son Louis in Rohnerville ca in 1923
In 1930 j p Hoffman died moved in with her son
Residence in 1935:Fortuna, Humboldt, California
She then moved back to LA in 1940 and lived with her son Steve and Kathryn for awhile before moving back to liberty to live with Lee Annie (Charlton) Sanders(whom was a widow by this time). and that's when they dictated her "Remeninences of Martha Jane Angeline Gist" To Lee Annie Sanders in the winter of 1941 and the spring of 1942 when she succumbed to the pneumonia according to her death certificate(which is where we found J P Hoffman's first name)

PS yes Remeninences is spelled incorrectly just as it was typed in 1942

There were 3?drafts of these notes the first was titled ”remembering the pioneer “ it was 6 pages each page a chapter full of typed typos and in between were notes Maude had written in hand