Sarah Doty McIntire

My great-grandfather, George Washington Doty,

son of Joseph and Sarah True Doty, had five siblings:

Emeline, born 1840, died 1903

Sarah, born 1842

William True, born 1845

Charles, born 1846

George Washington, born 1848, died 1910

Helen Maria, born 1850

George Washington Doty and his sister, Sarah Doty McIntire

This photo was probably taken between January 1908 when Sarah's husband died and March 1910 when George died. I believe it was taken at the Doty homestead. 

Born a few years after her sister, Emeline, Sarah Doty entered this world on December 8, 1842 and was named after her mother.  Sarah lived with her parents until her marriage to William Henry McIntire (sometimes written McIntyre) on April 25, 1867 at age 25.

In the 1870 census for Exeter Township, Monroe County, Sarah, 27 and William, 28 had just daughter, Mary, age 1.  (Sometimes Mr. McIntire is called William or Henry or W. H.)

The 1880 Federal Census for Raisinville, Monroe County, Michigan shows Henry W. McIntire, 38, farming and wife, Sarah, 37, keeping house.  By that time, they had three children: Mary A. (Adella), 11; Burton H. (Henry), 6; and Sarah E. (Ethel), 5 months.  Helping on the farm was a laborer from Prussia, August Shope, 29.

I found a birth record for a child born to the couple in 1871, Emma Estella, who apparently had died by the time of the 1880 census.  In 1882, tragedy struck the family again when their son, Burton, died at about the age of nine.  Henry's obituary stated that in 1882, the family moved to Kansas, and I wondered if it was partially in response to the loss of their only son.  The other reason would have to be the opportunities for cheap land in the west.

The Kansas State Census for El Dorado, Kansas in 1895 showed W. H. McIntire, 53, born Michigan; his wife, Sarah A, 52, also born Michigan and one child, daughter Ethel (Sarah E.) 14.  Sarah and Henry are also enumerated then in the Federal Census of 1900 in El Dorado, and the 1905 Kansas State Census, so it is easy to see that the family was happy there.  When they went to El Dorado in 1882, it was a time of western movement.  The area was known for the railroad that went through, shipping hay and cattle across the U.S. 

In the 1885 El Dorado City Directory, W. H. McIntire was listed in partnership with a Mr. Marshall as a coal, feed and flour dealer with their business located on Main Street.

On January 27, 1908, Henry died.  His obituary, although short, did give me the married names of his daughters, both of whom married in Kansas.  The obituary was published back home in Michigan by the Monroe Record-Commercial on Thursday, February 13, 1908:

"Neighborhood News - The news of the death of W. H. McIntire of El Dorado, Kansas, which occurred at his home there January 27th of paralysis.  He was a resident of Monroe county up until 1882, he having been born in the county in 1841.  He leaves many friends and relatives in the county to mourn his loss.  He leaves a wife and two daughters, Mrs. M. D. Johnson of Arkansa City, Ka., and Mrs. I.N. Davis, of El Dorado." 

Sometime after her husband's death, Sarah visited the homestead back in Monroe.  Photos were taken at that time of the surviving siblings and their spouses, but no Henry McIntire appeared so I think the pictures can be dated January 27,1908 - March 1910.  Perhaps this was her last visit with her brothers, George and William.

By the 1910 census, Sarah was still in El Dorado, and her daughter, Mary and husband, Milo and their two daughters, Margaret, 7,  and Henrietta, 2, had moved in with her.  Sarah was 67 and a widow, of course.  Interestingly, the census indicated that this was a second marriage for Mary.  Apparently, the first marriage was at quite a young age because both Milo and Mary reported they were first married at 17.  Mary had two children survive of four.

In 1919, Sarah's daughter, Mary Adella McIntire Johnson died at the age of 40.  Often known as Della, she and her husband, Milo, operated a laundry in El Dorado, known as the City Steam Laundry, for some years.  Their business was advertised in the city directories of the time.  After her daughter's death, Sarah moved to Wichita, Kansas, and stayed with Milo and her two granddaughters, Margaret, 16, and Henrietta, 19.  Sarah appeared there in the 1920 census.  Milo was in the automobile business.

Sarah lived just a few more years after her daughter's death. I have not been able to obtain her obituary, but I do know she died on February 8, 1921 at about the age of 79.  She and her husband are buried in Belle Vista Cemetery, El Dorado, Kansas.

Sarah and Henry's youngest daughter, Sarah Ethel, known as Ethel, lived until 1933. She had one son, W. H., probably named after her father, William Henry, but several other children had died in their youth.  Her obituary appeared in the El Dorado Times, Monday, April 3, 1933:

"El Doradoan Dies in Florida Town

Word has been received of the death Saturday in Bonita Springs, Florida, of Mrs. Ethel McIntire Davis, a resident of El Dorado for the past five years.  She was 53 years old and had been in ill health for two years.

With her son, W. H. Davis, also of El Dorado, Mrs. Davis went to Florida six months ago for her health and (has) been traveling over the country since that time.

She had resided in El Dorado for a number of years previous to 1901, but from that time until five years ago had lived in Florence, Sapulpa, Okla. and Wichita. She was a member of the Methodist church here.

Surviving besides her son are two cousins, Mrs. Karl Geddes and I. H. McIntire, both of El Dorado.  Two other children are deceased.  The body is being brought back to El Dorado and funeral arrangements will be announced later..."

Ethel is also buried in Belle Vista Cemetery, El Dorado, KS.

An addition to this post, July 8, 2013:

From the book, Descendants of Micum McIntire, a Scottish Highlander, deported by Oliver Cromwell after the Battle of Dunbar, September 3, 1650, and settled at York, Maine about 1668, by Robert Henry McIntire, Tuttle Co., 1940, page 63.

"McIntire, William Henry, b. Oct. 9, 1841, d. El Dorado,Jan. 27, 1908, m. Apr. 25,1867, Sarah A. Doty, daughter of Joseph and Sarah G. (True) Doty, b. Dec. 8, 1842.  Children (MacIntire) 1. Mary Adella, b. Dec. 28, 1868, d. Nov. 5, 1918; 2. Emma Estella; 3. Sarah Ethel b. Dec. 14, 1879, d.Kan. Apr. 1, 1933; 4. Burton Henry, died young."