ROYAL, William:
Born: 6 February 1820, in Middletown, OH; Married: 20 February 1845,Eunice Emeline WITHROW (1825 - 9 June 1906 near Dayton, IN); Died: 11 May 1894 near Dayton, IN; Parents: Thomas ROYAL (1791-1867) and Catharine WEIDNER/WIDENER (1788-1859); Siblings: John, Thomas, and Amanda, about whom more below, and Elizabeth, about whom little is known; Children: ANNA Priscilla, Catherine Jane (JENNY), Mary Josephine (JOSE), Elizabeth Frances (FAN), Samuel Thomas (SAM), James Albert (JIM), Ellen Alvaretta (ELLA), JULIA Alice, Clara Candace (PET), William Stanley (WILL), and Charles Edgar (ED);Occupation: farmer;
Other information: William Royal purchased land in Sheffield Township,Tippecanoe County, Indiana in November 1846 and brought his family here in the spring of 1847. In 1848 he sold two tracts to his brother John, who brought his family to Indiana about that time. A third brother, Thomas (wife: Rebecca Chenoweth), and family arrived in Indiana about 1849. By 1850 Thomas was living near his brothers in Sheffield Township, although he did not purchase land in the township until 1854. The three brothers and their wives seem to have come to this area because they had other relatives here, in particular Moses Graft, the uncle of William's wife, Eunice, and John's wife, Jane (who were sisters). Other relatives soon followed, including the parents of the brothers. William and John were successful farmers, interested in applying the latest scientific methods and investing in the latest equipment, and in addition, they speculated in real estate. Thomas, Sr.,'s father, Thomas Royal, was born in England. William and Eunice Royal and several of their children moved to Fowler, Kansas, in 1885. About 1892, ill health forced William to retire from farming. He and Eunice returned to Sheffield Township to live with their daughter Julia Alice and her husband William Henry Frantz, on a farm south of Dayton, where William died in 1894, and Eunice died in 1906.
Thomas and Rebecca Royal were the first to move to Kansas. They were in Waveland, Shawnee Co, by 1870, and in Salt City, Sumner County, by 1880. John and Jane Royal also went to Kansas, but soon returned to Dayton.
Amanda Royal married William J. Himmelright. She died about 1851 in Butler County, Ohio. In 1852 in Fountain County, Indiana, William remarried. The family moved several times and eventually settled in Dawson County, Nebraska. See the research of Sheila Cave at the site listed below.
Sources: Manuscript left by Rev. William Royal, son of Thomas Royal I; Delaware Archives, vol. 1: Military, 5 vols., Wilmington, DE: Star, 1911, pp. 70-73; Federal censuses of Ohio and Indiana; Early Marriage Records of Butler County, OH, vol. 3: 1845-47, Hamilton, OH:Butler Co. Hist. Society/DAR of Ohio, 1940; Marriage certificate, William Royal and Eunice Withrow; History and Biographical Cyclopaedia of Butler County, Ohio, Cincinnati, OH : Western Biographical Publishing Co., 1882; Lafayette (IN) Courier; Lafayette (IN) Journal; Land records,Tippecanoe County, IN, RecorderUs Office; Power, John Carroll, History of the Early Settlers,Sangamon County, Illinois, Springfield, IL: Wilson and Co., 1876; Virkus, Frederick A., Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy, 7 vols., Chicago: Virkus and Co., 1925-; Wills of Samuel Withrow and Abraham Graft, Butler Co., OH, probate records; Maps of Sheffield Township,Tippecanoe County, IN: 1850 Plat, 1866 wall map, 1878 Atlas; Tippecanoe County Genealogical Association, Alameda McCollough Library, Lafayette, IN; Dayton, IN, Cemetery, tombstone inscriptions; family information. Chenoweth site. Himmelright site. Compiled & Submitted to INTIPPEC and Rootsweb by: Susan Yost Clawson. Updated 9 January 2007.
Chenoweth Site <http://www.chenowethsite.com/ch6t2s.htm> by Chenoweth family association.
William J. Himmelright site (Amanda Royal) http://himmelright.homestead.com/WJresearch.html by Sheila Cave.I was alerted to this information and the site by Jan Humphreys.
Royals in INTIPPEC posting of Lafayette Journal and Courier Index <http://www.rootsweb.com/~intippec/JC_ros.html>
Susan Y. Clawson <clawsonsy@hotmail.com>
Last updated 14 September 2012.