Prosperity

Our modern idea of prosperity is usually thought of as the accumulation of monetary wealth.  But it wasn't always so.  Since my ancestors lived in the past I'm using this definition of prosperity from Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary to focus on the prosperity of one ancestor.

PROSPER'ITY, noun [Latin prosperitas.] Advance or gain in any thing good or desirable; successful progress in any business or enterprise; success; attainment of the object desired; as the prosperity of arts; agricultural or commercial prosperity; national prosperity  
Our disposition to abuse the blessings of providence renders prosperity dangerous.

Dixon and Rebecca (Smith) Bartley were prosperous in several good and desirable ways.

Family
According to census records and their 50th anniversary article, referenced below, the Bartleys had 13 children.  As far as I can tell only these nine lived to adulthood:  Eliza Ann, Thomas, Keziah Jane, George Washington, Edward Gilmore, Elvira, Lavina, Joseph, and Arabella.  At least several of the sisters remained close throughout their lives.

Home
The Bartleys owned a beautiful home in Bruin, Butler County, Pennsylvania.  I believe Dixon built the home or had it built but I have no history of the building.

Work and Property
Dixon was recorded as a farmer in the 1880 U.S. Agricultural Census which tells me that he owned at least 120 acres of land as well as 4 horses, 10 heads of cattle, 10 pigs, and 40 chickens.  In 1879 he harvested 108 bushels of buckwheat, 135 bushels of Indian corn, 180 bushels of oats, 60 of rye, 45 of wheat, and 250 bushels of potatoes.  He had a 6-acre orchard and harvested 700 bushels of apples.  He also harvested 200 pounds of honey.  Apple blossom honey, perhaps?  I have yet to research property and tax records to gain additional information.

Friends and Associates
Rebecca and Dixon seemed to have a wide circle of friends if one can base that statement on a newspaper article reporting on their 50th wedding anniversary.  Two hundred and fifty friends, neighbors, associates, and family members attended the celebration.  Their neighbor, H. S. Daubenspeck referred to Dixon and Rebecca as "being good citizens and kind neighbors."     

Church and Service

Membership in a church suggests the likelihood of willing service to others (though by no means guarantees it).  Dixon was a member of St. Peter's Reformed Church in Fairview.

Dixon also served in the position of Overseer of Poor in Parker Township for at least in 1876 for at least one term, based on a Parker Township Auditors Report published in the July 18, 1877, issue of The Butler Citizen.  I hope that his position involved more than just overseeing money but even if not, at least he was giving general service to the township.

I think Rebecca and Dixon Bartley were prosperous in the ways that matter most.

This post was written for Amy Johnson Crow's 2020 version of 52 Ancestors.  The post topic was "Prosperity." 

–Nancy.

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