The Marriage and Life

of

John and Percilla Carlin

January 23, 1865 to July 27, 1918

By  Harvey Green

(John and Percilla's great-grandson)

The Marriage and Life of John and Percilla Carlin.

January 23, 1865

            Following John's August 27, 1864  Virginia discharge, he returned to Northampton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey and the little town of Mt. Holly. It was here in Mt. Holly,  that John was to renew his pursuit of one, Percilla Ann Middleton.    John's pursuit of Percilla lasted until she finally caught him,  and 4 months and 27 days following his discharge from the Union Army,  they were married in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, on January 23, 1865.   At the time of their wedding  John as 22 years of age and his occupation was listed as Laborer while Percilla was 20 years of age and her occupation was listed as Spinster’s   Their prior marital status was recorded as Single’s .

            The wedding ceremony was held in the Mt. Holly Baptist Church and officiated by the Reverend Saml Aaron,  minister of that church.   It is not know for sure if the parents of Percilla, Saml S. and Lydia M. Middleton, or the parents of John, James and Mary Carlin, were present at the wedding, but their names appeared on the Returns of Marriage  document.   (Listed in the Division of Archives and Records Management , Trenton N.J. 08625, Volume C-2, Page 299.)  John and Percilla Carlin begin their married life in Burlington County, NJ.,  and their family was soon on its way.  Their first born was Laura (1866), and in rapid succession came, Lewis (1867), then Florence (1872) and Albert (1877), all born in New Jersey.  It is interesting to note the time span between the births of Lewis, Florence and Albert, each about 5 years.  At that time the infant mortality rate was quiet high and one has to wonder if there were children between each living child.

            By 1878 the Carlin family was to experience a major change in their lives.  The motivation for going out west  to the Washington Territory has been lost forever,  but one can only imagine what a monumental decision this must have been.  It would entail uprooting the family,  separating from their extended families, with the near  certainty of never seeing them again.  What could be the driving force behind such a  move?  Was it John’s post Civil War wanderlust? Was it the lure of a new land, or the perception of a better life for his family?  Maybe a little of all. What ever the scenario may have been,  John and Percilla must have envisioned a country where they could better themselves---and the Washington Territory held that promise.  Such a 3,000 mile trip with the late 19th Century modes of transportation was difficult at best, especially with three small children and Percilla carrying her fourth child.

            The Carlin family would make their new home in the little town of Coupeville, Washington Territory, which is located on rugged Whidbey Island in the Straits of Juan de Fuca.  John and Percilla’s decision to settle on Whidbey, at best was a difficult Island to reach and certainly a much more primitive life than they had experienced in New Jersey.  Here they were to continue their lives, and it has been reported that John farmed, bred horses and raced them.  It was here on Whidbey Island in 1879, that they would have their fourth child  Edward.  By the year 1882, John was born and in 1885 Lydia (my grandmother Smith) was born and she was to be the last child born to John and Percilla. 

            By 1889 the Washington Territory was granted Statehood and in that year a census was taken.  The population was listed as 4,641,000 and Olympia was to become the State Capital.  The following Carlin children were listed in the census by age and place of birth:  

Child                                     Age                    Place of Birth

  Lewis                                 21                               New Jersey

 Florence                             15                               New Jersey

 Albert                                 12                               New Jersey

 Edward                               10                               Wn. Territory

John                                       7                               Wn. Territory

 Lydia                                    4                               Wn. Territory

By the time of the 1889 Washington State census, Laura had been married to Percy Watson, and her name did not appear in the census of the Carlin household.

            In 1891, when Lydia was but 6 years of age,  Percilla became ill with Lung Fever  and after a short illness passed away  (In later years my grandmother told me that seeing her mother lying in state in their living room With pennies on her eyes was her very first and most vivid childhood recollection.)  The family was in a state of shock and disarray.  At some point during this time, it was decided that Lydia would live with her older sister Laura, and her husband Percy, who were to raise her as their own child.  Laura was a kind, jovial, fun loving person, and Lydia was to flourish in their household and develop a strong bond with her cousins.

            With the tragedy of Percillas death at hand, John purchased a plot of 8 grave sites,  3 of which remain unopened at this writing in 1997.  (Currently the cemetery plot is in the Coupeville Sunny Side Cemetery which is now within the confines of the Ebeys Landing National Historical Reserve.)  John remained on Whidbey for some years where he was later remarried, and his second wife was also berried in one of the 8 grave sites in Sunny Side Cemetery.

            It is quite unfortunate that there is a 27 year gap of information about John, starting  with Percilla's death and  ending with  his death on July 24, 1918.  The only bit of personal information on John came from my mother who recalled sitting on her grandfathers lap and looking in amazement at his long beard.  She said he was a gentle and kind man,  and she and her sister Pearl always looked forward to his infrequent visits to their dairy farm in Alger, Washington. 

            In later years,  following my mother’s death,  I found among her effects the following Funeral Notes of her beloved grandfather:

FUNERAL NOTES

CARDIN - John Carlin, age 76 years, a resident of Friday Harbor for the past 5 years, passed away at a local hospital at an early hour Friday evening, July 27, after an illness of two weeks duration.   He was a veteran of the Civil War,  holding a membership in the Grand Army post at La Conner, Wash.  He leaves to survive him four sons, Lewis, of Arizona: Albert and John of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Edward of Mount Vernon, Wash., and two daughters, Mrs. P.E. Watson, of Sumas, Wash., and Mrs. Henry Smith, of Alger, Wash.  Funeral services will be held  Monday morning, July 30, at Coupeville, the trip being made from here by automobile and internment will be made in the family plot in Coupeville Cemetery under the direction of Arthur C. Harlow, 1055 Elk Street.

            The daughters mentioned in the above article,  Mrs. P.E. Watson ,was Laura Carlin Watson, and Mrs. Henry Smith, of course was Lydia Carlin Smith, my grandmother.  It is interesting to note that  Florence had not been mentioned among the survivors.  This may mean that she had expired before the age of 44, or maybe she had lost contact with them as she had moved to New York City (her fathers birth place, where she must have had relatives),  where she became a noted model.

            The discovery of John’s Funeral Notes was to set in motion a 5 year quest for information on John Carlin and his life.  Dozens of letters were written, and  countless phone calls were made to individuals and  organizations such as:

Whidbey News Times 

Ebeys Landing National Historical Reserve

Coupeville Chamber of Commerce New York, City Municipal Archives

Coupeville Historical Society 

  Heritage Quest Research & Resource Center 

Union Army Vets       

New Jersey, Department of State Archives

Civil War Archives Center  

Visited a number of Civil war and genealogy sites on the Internet.

National Archives Trust Fund Board

It is a quest that will continue and as the information is collected the John Carlin story will continue to expand.

            In my early search for the Carlin family,  I had contacted the Obeys Landing National Historical Reserve and after a 10 day search the researcher had found the records concerning eight cemetery plots owned by the Carlin Family.  But the most valuable information that they gave me was the name of person who maintained the records for the Sunny Side Cemetery District  After several days of calling  Mr. Sherman without success and leaving messages on his answering machine,  he returned my call and left a message on our machine----our machines were talking to one another.  After leaving his message,  Mr. Sherman looked for the records and upon finding that here were no records of who was buried in the Carlin plot, he drove to the cemetery.  There he checked the grave markers,  and when we finally made contact he gave me the following information:

            John Carlin is buried in the southwest corner of the plot, and the dates inscribed on his head stone, were 1844  - 1918.

            Percale Carlin is burred beside John and her grave is marked by one of those tall old-fashioned monuments and the dates inscribed thereon is 1844 to 1891.  (Percale’s birth date was in conflict with her earlier noted age.)

            Pearl Rice (This confirms that in later years,  Pearl used her first husband’s Oscar Rice’s name) is buried beside Percilla and the date on her headstone is: 1903 -1960.

            Lydia H. Smith is buried beside Pearl Rice and the dates on her stone are: 1885-1970.

            Although Mr. Sherman was unable to shed as much light on the Carlin family as I had hoped for,  he turned out to be a most interesting individual and I enjoyed our conversation very much.  He had spent his entire 78 years on Whidbey Island,  and farms the land that his father had once farmed.  Born in 1917, he noted that he had been born one year before John Carlin's death.  We talked about the island and he was quite surprised that I had a decent knowledge of the general layout of the island, its towns and the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station that we had both watched as it was constructed during World War II.

            The information on the Carlin family history has been difficult and time consuming to research and gather.  However,  the people whom I have contacted along the way have been most helpful and have gone out of their way to assist me in my quest.  And often, when it looked as though I had exhausted every avenue,  something always seems to turn up, and once more I am off on a wild chase which can take months just to produce one fact or paragraph.

            During an October 20, 1999 conversation with my cousin Evelyn Marriott,  (who is the daughter of Pearl Smith, Rice,  who was the daughter of Lydia Carlin Smith)  informed me of the death of her second child,  Calvin Thomas Marriott.  Calvin,  more commonly known as Tom  had been born on April 21, 1944 and by early July of 1998,  had succumbed to the ravages of cancer. 

            Tom and his wife Virginia, had lived for a number of years in the little town of Coupeville, on Whidbey Island, where Virginia taught school.  Tom loved the island,  partially due to  the fact that his heritage lie deep within its soil.  His grandmother Pearl,  great grandmother Lydia, and great, great grandparents,  John and Percilla Carlin were all buried there.  His attachment to the Island was so strong that he requested his ashes be buried in the Carlin plot.  His wishes were granted, and as Evelyn and I chatted about the recent death (October 1, 1999) of her husband Harmon Marriott,  she informed me that it is also her wish to be buried on Whidbey Island in the Carlin plot  (even though Harmon was not interned there).  This will make 5 generations who have been buried on the windswept slopes of Whidbey Island.

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