Rollin Valentine Ankeny
Rollin Valentine Ankeny was born in Somerset County to Joseph and Harriet Ankeny on May 22, 1830. He moved to Millersburg, Ohio with his parents and three older brothers when he was just an infant. He worked on his father's farm and in his store. He acquired his primary education in a log school house and was a student throughout his life. His reading, experience, observations and contact with the world made him a well informed man. He studied medicine with Dr. James S. Irvine and he married Dr. Irvine's daughter, Sarah, in 1853. Sarah and Rollin moved to a 320 acre farm in Stephenson County, Illinois that his father owned. At the outbreak of the Civil War they had three children, Irvine Sample born in 1854, Harriet Louise born in 1856 and Joseph "Josie" born in 1859. Rollin became an active and decorated military leader for the Union. He assisted in recruiting Company A of the Eleventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was instrumental in procuring clothing and needed supplies. He was assigned duty as division quartermaster and was recognized as staff officer. He raised seven more companies of volunteers. He fought with the 46th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was named captain of Company B. He was lauded by his superiors for his topographical maps of battlegrounds. Ankeny was named first lieutenant of Company B, 46th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He fought with the regiment, was wounded at the Battle of Fort Donelson and the Battle of Shiloh and again while on the skirmish line at the White House. He participated in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, the second battle of Corinth, the campaign into Mississippi and the campaign of Vicksburg. His superiors utilized his skills in drawing topographical maps of battlegrounds. When the 142nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment was raised in June 1864 he was named its colonel. When the war ended, he was brevetted a brigadier general. During the war, in December of 1861 Rollin and Sarah suffered the death of their little two year old boy, Joseph. He resigned from duties in 1862 but later was mustered back into service. Colonel Ankeny was brevetted brigadier general by President Andrew Johnson. Two more children were born. Rollin Valentine was born in 1865 and Mary Bonnet was born in 1870. Rollin joined his parents and siblings and moved to Iowa. He purchased a large 640 acre plot of land north of Des Moines. He went into the lumber business in Winterset, Iowa. He suffered the death of his wife Sarah in 1879, his son Irvine in 1886 and his daughter Harriet in 1889. Rollin served as a U.S. marshal. He was a land surveyor in Florida and Oregon. He suffered an injury in a train wreck. He was part of a failed enterprise in the Black Hills of South Dakota and had a job with the US Department of the Interior. He was Overseer of the Poor in Des Moines and Coroner of Polk County. He was connected with the Masonic fraternity and Temple Commandery of Des Moines. He was a charter member of the Des Moines Lodge of Knights of Pythias and of the first Grand Army post ever organized -- Crocker post. He attended the Christian Church. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Union Veterans Union society. In one of his last assignments, he was appointed by the Governor of Iowa to be Commissioner of the Centennial Exposition to raise money and organize plans of action to represent Iowa. During his last days he lived with his elderly mother and his sister, Harriet Louise Ankeny, at their 920 Locust Street home in Des Moines. Rollin died from pneumonia in Des Moines on Christmas Eve in 1901. Rollin Valentine Ankeny is buried in Woodland Cemetery, Des Moines, Iowa.
1-Rollin Valentine ANKENY (22 May 1830-24 Dec 1901)
+Sarah IRVINE (1835-12 Jan 1879)
2-Irvine Sample ANKENY (1854-30 Sep 1886)
2-Harriet Louise ANKENY (20 Oct 1856-20 Jul 1889)
+John CONGER (1851-)
3-Rollin Valentine CONGER (9 May 1875-17 Dec 1887)
3-Edwin Hurd CONGER (17 Jul 1879-)
2-Joseph R "Josie" ANKENY (Sep 1859-12 Dec 1861)
2-Rollin Valentine ANKENY (1 Sep 1865-30 Oct 1934)
+Elinor "Nellie" RANDOLPH (1868-18 Nov 1947)
3-Irvine Randolph ANKENY (26 Jun 1891-7 Dec 1975)
+Genevieve Mary SMITH (1893-17 Feb 1939)
4-Florence A ANKENY (8 Jul 1910-10 Dec 1955)
+Winifred HARKINS CAHEN (1889-1987)
2-Mary Bonnet ANKENY (1870-Jun 1955)
+Frederick Heaton HUNTER (7 Jun 1869-23 Jul 1943)
3-Leland Day HUNTER (27 Apr 1894-25 Dec 1966)
+Isabelle GRAY (1889-)
+Leondy C (1894-)
4-Berniece HUNTER (1915-)
4-Evelyn HUNTER (1920-)
3-Josephine HUNTER (1898-)
+Harvey T RAY (1894-)
3-Rollin Valentine HUNTER (1909-)
+Ruth DICKINSON (-)
+Sarah IRVINE (1835-12 Jan 1879)
2-Irvine Sample ANKENY (1854-30 Sep 1886)
2-Harriet Louise ANKENY (20 Oct 1856-20 Jul 1889)
+John CONGER (1851-)
3-Rollin Valentine CONGER (9 May 1875-17 Dec 1887)
3-Edwin Hurd CONGER (17 Jul 1879-)
2-Joseph R "Josie" ANKENY (Sep 1859-12 Dec 1861)
2-Rollin Valentine ANKENY (1 Sep 1865-30 Oct 1934)
+Elinor "Nellie" RANDOLPH (1868-18 Nov 1947)
3-Irvine Randolph ANKENY (26 Jun 1891-7 Dec 1975)
+Genevieve Mary SMITH (1893-17 Feb 1939)
4-Florence A ANKENY (8 Jul 1910-10 Dec 1955)
+Winifred HARKINS CAHEN (1889-1987)
2-Mary Bonnet ANKENY (1870-Jun 1955)
+Frederick Heaton HUNTER (7 Jun 1869-23 Jul 1943)
3-Leland Day HUNTER (27 Apr 1894-25 Dec 1966)
+Isabelle GRAY (1889-)
+Leondy C (1894-)
4-Berniece HUNTER (1915-)
4-Evelyn HUNTER (1920-)
3-Josephine HUNTER (1898-)
+Harvey T RAY (1894-)
3-Rollin Valentine HUNTER (1909-)
+Ruth DICKINSON (-)
The Legacy of Rollin Valentine Ankeny
As of February 23, 2016 Rollin had 15 (known) descendants: 5 children, 6 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
Rollin's first three children died young. Irvine died when he was 32. Harriet Louise Ankeny Conger died when she was 32. Little Joseph died when he was only 2 years old.
Rollin's fourth child, and his namesake, Rollin Valentine Ankeny married "Nellie" and they had one son. Rollin went into the banking industry. He became the Vice President of the largest bank in the Northwest U.S. in Seattle, Washington. Rollin was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He and Nellie are buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Seattle, Washington.
Rollin's fourth child, and his namesake, Rollin Valentine Ankeny married "Nellie" and they had one son. Rollin went into the banking industry. He became the Vice President of the largest bank in the Northwest U.S. in Seattle, Washington. Rollin was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He and Nellie are buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Seattle, Washington.
Rollin Valentine Ankeny, son of Rollin Valentine Ankeny
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Seattle, Washington
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Seattle, Washington
Rollin's fifth child was Mary Bonnet Ankeny. She was only nine years old when her mother died. She married Frederick Heaton Hunter. The Hunter family was a pioneer suffrage family. Mr. Hunter was an entrepreneur and invested and worked within farming, the rice growing business, the insurance business and lastly as a garage owner and manager. They had three children. Mary Bonnet Ankeny Hunter was a leader in the suffrage movement. She joined the Unity Circle of the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines. The church was active in the 1908 Boone suffrage parade. Mary Hunter was a member of the Iowa and Polk County League of Women Voters. Mary Hunter served as Secretary and then President for over thirteen years of the Iowa Suffrage Memorial. Mary Hunter is recognized in the Iowa Women's Archives at the University of Iowa Library . Mary Bonnet was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution but later in life she resigned to reflect her adamant views against war and fervent belief in world peace. She shared these convictions with her friend, Carrie Chapman Catt. Correspondence between Hunter and Catt has been trascribed by Karla Wright and published in the biography book about Mary, "Mary Bonnet Ankeny Hunter - The Life and Contributions of an Iowa Suffragist" and its "Appendix". The myriad editorials, speeches, letters, position papers and written records are saved in these books to preserve her legacy as she preserved the legacy of the Iowa suffrage movement and leaders. Mary's dedication to the cause of Americanization, World Peace and Suffrage as well as information about her life and family are recorded in these books by Karla Wright. The books are available on Amazon.com. The Iowa Suffrage Memorial at the Iowa State Capitol was dedicated in 1936 by Hunter and Catt. Little Nancy Bristow (Hunter's niece) pulled the cord to open the curtain to unveil the bas relief artwork. The monument represents the early suffrage leaders passing the torch to the next generation. Wright believes it is incredibly important to recognize Mary Ankeny Hunter for her dedicated work and also because there is NO headstone to mark the place where her cremains are buried in Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines, Iowa. Records show that she was buried in Woodland Cemetery within the Hunter family burial plots, however, no headstone exists for Mary Hunter, only a rock next to Fred H Hunter's headstone. She died October 12, 1954 at the age of 84, in New London, Connecticut while visiting her daughter.
Mary Bonnet Ankeny Hunter
(photo from University of Iowa, Women's Suffrage Exhibit)
(photo from University of Iowa, Women's Suffrage Exhibit)
The above obituary is a fitting tribute to the life and contributions of
Mary Bonnet Ankeny Hunter.
Mary Bonnet Ankeny Hunter.