Blanche Etta Sill1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
F, #172, b. 28 October 1858, d. 7 December 1952
Parents
BASIC FACTS
Blanche Etta Sill was born on 28 October 1858 in Bedford, Bedford Co., Pennsylvania.2,10 She and Frederick Russell "Russell" DeVault were married on 4 February 1880 in Leesburg, Washington Co., Tennessee.2,10 She died on 7 December 1952, at age 94, in Leesburg, Washington Co., Tennessee.2,10 She was buried in Leesburg Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Leesburg, Washington Co., Tennessee.11 Blanche Etta Sill had reference number 172. She was enumerated on the census in Bedford County, Pennsylvania (1860); Washington County, Tennessee (1870, 1880, 1900 - 1930.) Blanche Etta Sill was born in Pennsylvania in 1858, the daughter of Frederick and Mary (Stiver) Sill. Mary died in childbirth, and Blanche was raised by her father and by her father's sister, Mariah (Sill) Fetter. When Blanche was twelve, Mariah and husband Jacob Fetter moved their family to Leesburg, Tennessee. They took Blanche with them. Twice Blanche's father came to Tennessee to coax her home, but she was happy and thriving in Leesburg. She was educated in private Lutheran Boarding Schools and also at Washington College, in Washington County, Tennessee. (Most of this information was provided by Mary Russell (DeVault) Butcher.)
Blanche was very well regarded by her children and grandchildren.
Notes:
Jacob and Mariah (Sill) Fetter, their two children, Mariah's brother, Frederick Sill, and Frederick's one-year-old daughter, Blanche Sill, are shown living together in the 1860 Census for Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Jacob and Mariah, daughter Sarah Fetter, son Thomas Reuben Fetter and Thomas' wife, Nancy (Dickins) Fetter moved from Pennsylvania to Leesburg, Washington County, Tennessee shortly after the Civil War. They are shown there in the 1870 Census and Blanche is listed as being eleven years old. The Fetter's daughter, Sarah Fetter, married a Gideon W. Carmack. Gideon was a brother of Mary Caroline (Carmack) DeVault, second wife of John Davault.
Samuel and Leah (Cromwell) Stiver were Blanche's maternal grandparents. It has been reported that Leah was also the grandmother of James H. R. Cromwell (first husband of Doris Duke) and his sister, Henriett Louise Cromwell (first wife of General Douglas MacArthur). Since Leah's married name was Stiver, this seems impossible, just on the face of it. I have not been able to establish a link between Leah (Cromwell) Stiver and these more famous Cromwells.
OBITUARY - Johnson City, Tennessee); December 8, 1952
MRS. BLANCH DEVAULT
Mrs. Blanch DeVault, 94, of the Leesburg Community, died at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at her home, following a lingering illness.
She is survived by one daughter, Mrs. D. D. Roseborough, Mount Dora, Fla.; one son, E. G. DeVault, Bristol, Tenn.; nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren,
OBITUARY - Johnson City Press, December 9, 1952
MRS. BLANCHE DEVAULT
Mrs. Blanche DeVault, 94, of the Leesburg Community, died at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at her home, following a lingering illness.
She is survived by one daughter, Mrs. D. D. Roseborough, Mount Dora, Fla.; one son, E. G. DeVault, Bristol, Tenn.; nine grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
Funeral will be at 2:30 p.m. today at the Leesburg Presbyterian Church with Dr. Young officiating.
Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are Dr. C. W. Brabson, Hiram Johnson, Frank Knight, Robert Crookshanks, W. L. Rankin and Guy Harris.
Flower bearers will be ladies of the church and friends.
The body will be taken to the church one hour before the service.
Dillow-Taylor is in charge.
OBITUARY - Johnson City, Tennessee); December 8, 1952
MRS. BLANCH DEVAULT
Mrs. Blanch DeVault, 94, of the Leesburg Community, died at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at her home, following a lingering illness.
She is survived by one daughter, Mrs. D. D. Roseborough, Mount Dora, Fla.; one son, E. G. DeVault, Bristol, Tenn.; nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren,
GRAVE STONE
FREDERICK RUSSELL DEVAULT
JULY 18, 1855 -- MARCH 9, 1945
WIFE
BLANCHE SILL DEVAULT
OCT. 28, 1858 -- DEC. 7, 1952. There is an old photo of the DeVault Tavern showing a number of guests in the yard. The caption says that it was on the occasion of Frederick Russell "Russell" Davault going to visit Blanch Sill before they were married. In order to make sense of all of this, one needs to know that the Fetters were living in the DeVault Tavern. Prior to the Civil War, John Davault, who had inherited the Tavern, had moved with his family across the road to the farm known as Sunnyside. (Sunnyside or Sunny Side was a farm and large brick house.) At the time that the above mentioned photo was taken, probably the late 1870s, Russell was living with his parents at Sunnyside. Russell and Blanche were married in 1880. They lived their entire lives in the DeVault Tavern, Leesburg, Washington County, Tennessee.
Citations
- [S2453] Article - "Frederick DeVault", by Martha (Butcher) Crowe; History of Washington County Tennessee 1988, Source Medium: Book
- [S12379] Report on Henry Dewald and Family by Newland DeVault dated 1975, Source Medium: Book
- [S209] 1870 Census, Tennessee, Washington County, Source Medium: Book
- [S359] 1880 Census, Tennessee, Washington County
- [S669] 1900 Census, Tennessee, Washington County
- [S1017] 1910 Census, Tennessee, Washington County
- [S1449] 1920 Census, Tennessee, Washington County, Source Medium: Book
- [S1946] 1930 Census, Tennessee, Washington County
- [S116] 1860 Census, Pennsylvania, Bedford County
- [S2505] Bible Pages - Frederick Russell DeVault
- [S7917] Grave Marker - Frederick Russell & Blanch Sill DeVault, Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Leesburg, Washington Co., Tennessee, Source Medium: Book