In the 1850 Census, we find Nelson, a unique name in this family, living with his parents John and Ellen.

I think Nelson married well. After his death, which was also after the death of his father-in-law and the arrival to age of all of Joseph Hampshire’s children, there were at least five deeds written by Nicholas and Betsy Ann Hoshall, Joanna Hampshire (widow of Nelson), Joanna’s two sisters who had both married Coopers and George T Hampshire -- selling off Joseph’s land, piece by piece. Nelson’s father I think was no help to them and to the extent that Nelson began life as a farmer, I would think it was on his deceased father-in-law’s land.

Nelson can be accounted for in his father's household in 1830 and 1840. In 1850, Nelson is named in his father’s household. In 1860, he has married Joanna and they have had a son Milton. Nelson is a farmer. A neighbor is John Hoshall. A curiousity is why Clarence was given the name Milton.

Nelson’s birth and death dates come from his tombstone which I have seen. It also says he died at age 33. His marriage to Joanna Hampshire on 21 Nov 1857 is cited in the Baltimore County Court House Marriage Book. A listing taken from the Baltimore Sun of 1 Dec 1857 also cites this marriage but dates it 22 Oct 1857, but I think this is a less reliable source than the other. That he and Joanna were the parents of Clarence M is confirmed by Census listings and that his father was John also is derived from Census records.

I do not know the circumstances of Nelson Hoshall’s 1861 death. It was shortly before the Civil War started, so was not related to that, nor probably to the diseases which rampaged in the major cities during the War-time years.

Joanna Hampshire is found in the 1850 Census living with her mother Elizabeth who had married Nicholas Hoshall after her first husband Joseph M Hampshire died.

Joanna can be accounted for in her father’s household in 1840. By 1850, he has died and she lives with her mother and step-father. In 1860, she has married Nelson Hoshall and lives with him and her new-born son.

After Nelson died in 1861, leaving Joanna alone with her two year old son Clarence M, Joanna did what her mother had earlier done: she remarried — in Joanna’s case, to Albert Almony. And so we find her in the 1870, 1880 and 1900 Census living with husband Albert.

In 1870, Lida Slade lives two houses away.

In 1880, Albert is a farmer, age 46 and living with Albert and Joanna is stepson Clarence, age 20, who works on the farm. The transcription I have says Joanna is 36, but in fact she was 41 or so. Either someone made a mistake or she was fudging her age. Since she admitted in the 1900 Census to a Jun 1839 birth date, I think it is a case of a transcriber error.

Diane Kreuzer has published an Internet Family Tree and has the line from John to George to Joseph to Joanna. I think most of what she says is accurate except for her biography of John. I think Diana may have found a different John and assumed he was the John who died in York County.

The facts are that Joanna was most certainly Joanna Hampshire, daughter of Joseph M Hampshire and his wife Elizabeth Ann Matthews. Joseph died in 1843 when Joanna was about 4 years old and Elizabeth Ann remarried, before 1846, to Nicholas Hoshall. They appear twice in the 1850 Census. In one case, we find Nicholas Hoshel (of District 6 Baltimore County), his wife Ann and then these children, written this way and in this chronological order: Nancy Hampshire, Dianna, Joanna, Geo (I think), Melchor Hoshel and Hester. What it implies is that Nancy, Dianna, Joanna and Geo were all named Hampshire and were Nicholas’ step-children and then presumably Melchor and Hester were the children of Elizabeth Ann and Nicholas. However, a few pages later in this Census the same people are listed again, but this time there is no mention of the Hampshire surname on the record.

My research into the Hoshall and Hampshire family is now relatively complete but it had twists and turns along the way. I knew early on that Clarence Hoshall's mother was named Joanna. An early discovery was a marriage record indicating that Joanna Hoshall had married Albert Almony in about 1868. The 1880 census showed Clarence Hoshall living in Albert's household with Albert's wife Joanna. And on the Internet I found that Joanna Hoshall who married Albert Almony had been the daughter of Nicholas Hoshall.

So, the mystery at that point was how could a woman whose maiden name was Hoshall have had a son whose name was also Hoshall? Clearly, she had had this son prior to her marriage to Albert Almony and that uncertainty demanded further investigation. It took some digging and several months to discover the truth -- that Joanna (maiden name) Hampshire had married Nelson Hoshall, Clarence was born and then Nelson suffered an untimely death. Then, a few years later, Joanna married second Albert Almony and then in the 1870 and 1880 Census, we find Clarence living with this couple. Just to add to the confusion though, his name was given as Almony in 1870 and then correctly as Hoshall in 1880.

The whole idea that Joanna was the daughter of Nicholas Hoshall was erroneous. Her mother had remarried Nicholas Hoshall after Joanna’s father, Joseph Hampshire, died young and there was one Census listing which erroneously made it appear that all of her mother’s children by her first marriage were named Hoshall.

While all these families -- Hoshall, Hampshire and Matthews -- lived close to one another, it could be argued that the event of Joanna Hampshire ever even meeting Nelson Hoshall came about when Joanna’s mother married Nicholas Hoshall. Nelson and Nicholas were first cousins.

Joanna Hampshire is the woman Joanna Mertz was named for. Whether the name was spelled Joanna or Johanna is a matter of interest. It was recorded as Joanna in the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 Census and then Johanna in 1900. A Hoshall researcher who extracted records from various newspapers and courthouse records wrote it as Joanne once, Johanna once and Josephine once — all pertaining to her marriage to Nelson Hoshall.

But two other sources both based on newspaper accounts of the time cited it as Joanna. For example: ”Marriages in the Baltimore Sun 1851-60. Hoshall, Nelson 22 Oct 1857, Joanna Hampshire.” And a source referring to her death certificate says Joanna.

This pattern of an early death of a parent and subsequent remarriage continued to occur in this family. Clarence M Hoshall married Lida Slade in 1885 and then Lida Slade died giving birth to her daughter Lida Slade Hoshall in 1887. Clarence M went on to marry second Emma G Hunter with whom he had several children, but Lida had been sent right off to live with her Slade grandparents and they are the ones who raised her.

The will of Albert Almony, dated 2 Mar 1909 and proved 6 Apr 1909 bequeathed: ”to Lida Hoshall, daughter of my stepson Clarence -- $200.” Christopher C Slade was a witness to his will.

Joanna’s birth date and death date are engraved on her tombstone, which I have seen. She shares the marker with her second husband Albert J B Almony. Her marriage to Albert on 23 Mar 1868 is cited in the Baltimore County Court House Marriage Book. Joanna was a member of United Brethren Church at the time of her second marriage.