Sarah Emma Cobb

Narrative:

     Sarah Emma Cobb was born on 21 Dec 1820 in Vermont.^5,6,7
     She moved to Indiana with her parents about 1827.¹³ She was probably the female age 5 to 10 listed in the household of her father, Capt. Willard Cobb, in the 1830 Federal Census of Decatur Co., Indiana.¹⁴ She was probably the female age 10 to 15 listed in the household of her father in the 1830 Federal Census of Decatur Co., Indiana, although she was actually age 17 by then.¹⁵
     She moved to Oskaloosa, Mahaska Co., Iowa, with her parents in 1846.^16,17 She appeared on the 1850 Federal Census of Mahaska Co., Iowa, in the household of her parents.¹⁸
     Sarah appeared on the 1856 State Census of Oskaloosa, Mahaska Co., Iowa, in the household of her sister Marietta and her husband, William Samuel Dart.¹⁹
     She appeared on the 1860 Federal Census of Oskaloosa, Mahaska Co., Iowa, in the household of her sister Parolina and her husband, William B. Street, reporting she held real estate valued at $300, and that she was a seamstress.²⁰

Becoming Married --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Sarah married Enoch G. Crosthwait, son of Hervey Crosthwait and Mary Axley, on 4 Mar 1862 in Mahaska Co., Iowa.^8,9,10
     Sarah and Enoch appeared on the 1870 Federal Census of Des Moines, Polk Co., Iowa, enumerated 4 Aug 1870, reporting real estate valued at $10,000 and personal estate of $3,000. His children by his prior marriage, Nancy, Mary and William, were listed as living with them.²¹
     Sarah and Enoch appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Valley Twp., Polk Co., Iowa, enumerated 5 Jul 1880, Also listed in the household are Jason Beeman, age 32, as farm laborer, and Elizabeth Dixon, age 23, a housekeeper.²²
     Sarah and Enoch appeared on the 1885 State Census of Valley Twp., Polk Co., Iowa, shown as living on the west half of the southeast quarter of township 79, range 24, section 18. That would indicate that their farm was 80 acres. Hubert G. Jones, age 23, is also listed as living with them.²³
     Her husband died on 14 Dec 1888.^24,25,26

Living as a Widow --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Sarah moved to Des Moines following the death of her husband.²⁷
     She borrowed money from her nieces Eliza E. Dart and Ida Maria Street in a series of loans beginning 30 Dec 1892 and continuing until 27 Jul 1904. She borrowed a total of $433.50 in eight transactions from Ida, and $462.42 from Eliza in four transactions, of which $182.35 was repaid during her lifetime.²⁸
     Sarah left a will dated 28 Feb 1895 stating she was of Des Moines, Iowa, in which she left all her personal and real estate, after payment of her debts and funeral expenses, to her nieces Eliza and Ida. She also named them as executors, to serve without bond.²⁹
     Sarah appeared on the 1895 State Census of Des Moines, Polk Co., Iowa, reporting that she owned her home. Her younger sister, Marietta, and Ida Maria Street, daughter of her youngest sister Parolina, were listed as living with her, as was Hannah Anderson, age 30, a domestic from Sweden.³⁰
     Sarah appeared on the 1900 Federal Census of Des Moines, Polk Co., Iowa, at 703 Euclid Ave., enumerated 12 Jun 1900, reporting that she owned her home, which was mortgaged.³¹ She appeared on the 1905 State Census of Des Moines, Polk Co., Iowa, at 703 Euclid Ave..³²
     Sarah died on 25 Sep 1905 in Des Moines, Iowa, at age 84.^11,7 She was buried in Woodland Cemetery, Des Moines, Iowa, in a lot adjacent to those of her sisters Marietta and Parolina.¹²

Settling Her Estate --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Her will was probated on 25 Oct 1905 in Polk Co., Iowa. Jesse F. Stevenson was appointed administrator after the executrices named in the will both resigned. At their request, he was not required to post bond.³³
     An inventory of her estate was filed on 24 Nov 1905, listing assets as a mortgage note from Amanda J. Park for $145, due Oct 1905, and a small amount of furniture and personal belongings of little money value that had been left in her residence and divided among her relatives and friends.³⁴ The estate also included her residence at 703 Euclid Ave., Des Moines, which was mortgaged for $500. According to her administrator, the home was "badly out of repair" at the time of her death. He tried without success to sell it in the spring of 1906 for $2,200. After improvements were made it remained unsold with an asking price of $2,500 when the estate was closed.³⁵
     The final settlement of the estate was filed on 27 Oct 1906. He reported he had collected the $150 load due the estate, with interest, and rent for her former residence during the first half of that year, a total of $217. He had paid out a total of $296 for final expenses, insurance, taxes, and other expenses. The estate owned him $97, including work he had done for her before his appointment. It also owed her nieces $2,831 for their unpaid loans, and the $500 mortgage to the bank remained. He reported that he was waiving his claim, the nieces who now had title to the real estate were waiving theirs, the bank was looking to its mortgage for repayment, and all other claims had been settled.³⁶ The estate was closed 5 Nov 1906.³⁷