Person Page - 1041

     Nathaniel Townsend was born on 2 October 1804. He died on 10 March 1854 at age 49.¹

     John Truman was born on 26 September 1802 at Newport, NY.² He married Cynthia Truman on 3 June 1824 at NY.² John Truman married Maria Holcombe, daughter of Orange Holcombe and Lydia Rogers, on 15 November 1836 at Lincklean, Chenango Co., NY.^1,2 John Truman died on 16 May 1862 at Lima, Rock Co., WI, at age 59.²

     Sarah Jane Mayfield was also known as Sarah Jane Fulks. Sarah Jane Mayfield was also known as Jane Wyman. She was born on 5 January 1917 at St. Joseph, MO. She married President Ronald Wilson Reagan, son of John Edward Reagan and Nellie Clyde Wilson, on 26 January 1940 at Glendale, Long Beach Co., CA. Sarah Jane Mayfield and President Ronald Wilson Reagan were divorced on 28 July 1949.¹ Sarah Jane Mayfield died on 10 September 2007 at Palm Springs, Riverside Co., CA, at age 90.

from Wikipedia, 11 September 2007:

Although her birthdate has been widely reported for many years as January 4, 1914, research by biographers and genealogists indicates that she was born January 5, 1917. The most likely reason for the 1914 date is that she added to her age when beginning her career as a minor in order to work legally. She may have changed her January 5 birthdate to January 4 to coincide with that of her daughter, Maureen Reagan. After Wyman's death, a release posted on her official website confirmed these details.

Her parents were Manning Jeffries Mayfield (1895-1922), a meal-company laborer, and his wife, the former (Gladys) Hope Christian (1895-1960), a doctor's stenographer and office assistant. In 1921, her parents divorced, and her father died unexpectedly the following year at age 27. After her father's death, her mother moved to Cleveland, leaving her to be raised by foster parents, Emma and Richard D. Fulks (1862-1928), the chief of detectives of Saint Joseph, and she took their surname unofficially, though it appeared on her school records as her actual surname.

Her tumultous youthful years—father dying young, mother abandoning her, and being raised by neighbors—resulted in few pleasurable memories, Wyman later recalled: "I was raised with such strict discipline that it was years before I could reason myself out of the bitterness I brought from my childhood."

In 1928, aged 11, she moved to southern California, where her mother tried to start an acting career. When that was unsuccessful, she turned to her daughter as an alternative but neither were able to find work. In 1930 the two moved back to Missouri, where Sarah Jane attended Lafayette High School in her hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri. That same year she began a radio singing career, calling herself "Jane Durrell" and added years to her birthdate to work legally since she would have been under age.

After Jane left Lafayette in 1932, aged 15, she returned to Hollywood, obtaining small parts in The Kid from Spain (as a "Goldwyn Girl") (1932), My Man Godfrey (1936) and Cain and Mabel (1936). After legally changing her last name from Durrell to Wyman, she began her career as a contract player with Warner Bros. in 1936, the same year she graduated from the University of Missouri. Her big break came the following year, when she received her first big role in Public Wedding, and her movie career took off.

In 1939, Wyman was cast in her first starring role, in Torchy Plays With Dynamite. In 1941, she appeared in You're in the Army Now, in which she and Regis Toomey had the longest screen kiss in cinema history - 3 minutes and 5 seconds.
Wyman finally gained critical notice in the film noir The Lost Weekend (1945). She was nominated for the 1946 Academy Award for Best Actress for The Yearling (1946), and won two years later for her role as a deaf-mute rape victim in Johnny Belinda (1948). She was the first person in the sound era to win an acting Oscar without speaking a line of dialogue.
In an amusing acceptance speech, perhaps poking fun at some of her long-winded counterparts, Wyman took her statue and said, "I won this by keeping my mouth shut, and that's what I'm going to do now."

The Oscar win gave her the ability to choose higher profile roles, although she still showed a liking for musical comedy. She worked with such directors as Alfred Hitchcock on Stage Fright (1950), Frank Capra on Here Comes the Groom (1951) and Michael Curtiz on The Story of Will Rogers (1952). She starred in The Glass Menagerie (1950), Just for You (1952), Let's Do It Again (1953), The Blue Veil (1951) (another Oscar nomination), the remake of Edna Ferber's So Big (1953), Magnificent Obsession (1954) (Oscar nomination), Lucy Gallant (1955), All That Heaven Allows (1955), and Miracle in the Rain (1956).

She came back to the big screen after her anthology series to replace the ailing Gene Tierney in Holiday for Lovers (1959), Pollyanna (1960), Bon Voyage! (1962), and her final big screen movie, How to Commit Marriage (1969).

Wyman was also one of Hollywood's most sought-after and top-notch character actresses of all time, beginning in 1955. Her first guest-starring role was on an episode of General Electric Theatre. This one shot appearance led to other roles such as: Summer Playhouse, Lux Playhouse, Washington Desilu Playhouse, Checkmate, The Investigators, two guest appearances on Wagon Train, she served as hostess of The Bell Telephone Hour, Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theatre, The Sixth Sense and Insight, among many others. In the late 1970s, she appeared in an episode of Charlie's Angels, playing a psychic, and in an episode of The Love Boat she played a nun.

In the 1950s, Wyman hosted an anthology television series, Jane Wyman Theater, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1957. During her tenure as host, however, ratings steadily declined, and the show ended after three seasons.

She was also cast in two unsold pilots during the 1960s and 1970s. After those pilots were not picked up, Wyman went into semi-retirement and remained there for most of the 1970s.

Wyman's career enjoyed a resurgence when she was cast as the scheming Californian vintner and matriarch Angela Channing in the primetime soap opera Falcon Crest, which ran from 1981 to 1990. The series was created by Earl Hamner, who had created the hit series The Waltons a decade earlier. Ex-husband Ronald Reagan apparently encouraged Wyman to take the role, after actress Barbara Stanwyck had turned it down. In its first season, Falcon Crest was a ratings hit, behind Dallas but initially ahead of rival soap Dynasty.

For her role as Angela Channing, Wyman was nominated for a Soap Opera Digest Award five times (for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role and for Outstanding Villainess: Prime Time Serial), and was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1983 and 1984. That same year, she won the Golden Globe for Best Performance By an Actress in a TV Series. Later in the show's run, Wyman suffered several health problems. In 1986, she had abdominal surgery which caused her to miss two episodes while her character simply "went missing" in mysterious circumstances for this duration. In 1988, she missed another episode due to ill-health and was told by her doctors to avoid work. However, she wanted to continue working and she completed the rest of the 1988-1989 season while her health was still deteriorating. Months later in 1989, Wyman collapsed on the set and was hospitalized with diabetes and a liver ailment. Her doctors told her that she should end her acting career. Wyman was absent for most of the ninth and final season of Falcon Crest in 1989-1990 (her character was written out of the series by being comatose in a hospital bed). Going against her doctor's advice, she returned for the final three episodes in 1990, even writing a soliloquy for the series finale. Wyman ultimately appeared in 208 of the show's 227 episodes.

Co-starring on the show were a couple of familiar actors, Robert Foxworth as Angela's nephew, Chase Gioberti, and Susan Sullivan in the role as Chase's wife and Angela’s niece, later daughter-in-law, Maggie Gioberti Channing. A strong connection and respect for each other developed between Wyman & Sullivan during the show's long run. Sullivan said of her mentor, "Jane was a very strong influence". She also commented about Wyman's determination to stay on Falcon Crest, "Jane is the most professional person I have ever worked with. I have seen her battle through illness and fatigue and still keep working. She says 'Let's get this done. We have a job to do,' and everyone gets behind her. She is always willing to help younger actors. She gave instructions nicely and with humor. She once said to me, 'You can tell anybody anything if you do it with humor'. She ruled the set with a kind and intelligent hand."

Wyman's health problems in 1989 prompted Sullivan to pay Wyman a visit to the hospital to see the ailing actress, as she prayed and asked Jane to go back to work, when better. Maureen's death in 2001, followed by Ronald's, three years later, drew Wyman & Sullivan closer, as Susan cried and sent her condolences, throughout this difficult time. She even stayed in contact with Wyman for years, before Jane's own death. A year later David Selby and Ana-Alicia also joined the cast of the hit show, as Angela's conniving son, Richard Channing and as Angela's selfish granddaughter-in-law and Lance's first wife, Melissa Agretti Cumson. Before then, the show cast a then unknown actor – martial artist, family friend, future action hero of the 1990s and reality show participant of Mediterranean and Norwegian descent, Lorenzo Lamas – in the role of Angela's playboy grandson and henchman, Lance Cumson. Like her on-going relationship with Sullivan, there was also a strong connection between Wyman & Lamas, as they played evil relatives fighting against each other throughout the series' run. Her friendship with Lorenzo Lamas' family began in the 1950s when her Lorenzo's father Fernando Lamas guest-starred on Wyman's anthology series, when Lorenzo was only 3 months old. A little over two decades later, Wyman suggested to him that he should try out for the part in Falcon Crest.

In 1983, Wyman and actress Abby Dalton were invited to Lamas' & Kathleen's wedding, and were very proud of him. Lamas said a lot of things of his old friend and acting coach, "She never actually pressured changes, but people on the set felt compelled to listen." Lorenzo also said, "Working with Jane Wyman is something that I will never forget. She is a consummate professional. She set the tone for every other actor who did that show. After nine seasons she never made a fuss about a bigger trailer. She stayed in the same little 16 x 16 room that we all did and never complained. Jane was such a professional and such a class act. She was like a grandmother to me." Another thing that Lamas was asked after he'd been scolded or had been afraid of his on-screen grandmother on the set, he said, "I remember the first time I came on the set with a new tattoo, It was like 1982 or 1983. We had come back from the hiatus and we were shooting up in Napa. She saw this tattoo at a distance and yelled, 'Lorenzo Lamas, you get over here!' I walked over there and she said, 'What the hell have you done to yourself?' I said, 'I got a tattoo.' She looked at me, shook her finger at my nose and said, 'You are an actor, young man. You are not a person who goes and gets tattoos. You better learn from that!' Back in the day, nobody had tattoos [on shows] but ex-cons and pirates. I didn't learn much from that lesson because I went out and got more and more. Now they have to cover them up [on B&B]." Just months after he was released from his B&B contract, he was even in more devastating shock to hear of his mentor's death and was interviewed on another website, "Next to my parents, Jane was the most influential person in my young career," he summed it all up by tying together, "She has left an incredible body of work and accomplishments that cannot go without being recognized and celebrated. I will miss her greatly."

The 1982 death of Lorenzo's father, Fernando, made the relationship stronger as Wyman was one of the people to hear about this, while they were working, real hard on the second season of Falcon Crest. Outside of work, she even sent Lamas her condolences throughout his difficult time. In 1989, Lamas shocked when his longtime friend was hospitalized with a liver ailment and diabetes at a Los Angeles hospital, and paid a visit to see her. For years after the cancelation of Falcon Crest, Lamas hasn't been keeping in contact with Wyman at all, but have been praying and thinking that working with Jane had been the highlights of his early career. Both deaths, which included Maureen's in 2001 and Ronald's three years later, drew Wyman & Lamas real closer, as he was breaking down and weeping, before he cried even more of Jane's own death.

After Falcon Crest, Wyman only acted once more, playing Jane Seymour's screen mother in a 1993 episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Following this, Wyman retired from acting permanently. Wyman had starred in 83 movies, two successful TV series, and was nominated for an Academy Award four times, winning once.

It has been rumored that on April 8, 1933, Wyman (then Sarah Jane Mayfield) married Ernest Eugene Wyman (or Weymann). According to American geneaologist William Addams Reitwiesner, however, it appears more likely that Jane Wyman adopted her professional surname from her German-born foster mother, Emma (Reise) Fulks, who was previously married to Dr. M. F. Weyman, a St. Louis, Missouri ophthalmologist by whom she had several children who lived with Jane Wyman in her youth.

She married Myron Futterman on June 29, 1937, and they divorced on November 1, 1938.

In 1938, Wyman co-starred with Ronald Reagan in Brother Rat (1938), and its sequel Brother Rat and a Baby (1940). The two were married (her second or third marriage, and his first) on January 26, 1940, and divorced on June 28, 1948. She and Reagan had three children; Maureen Elizabeth Reagan (1941 - 2001), Michael Reagan (adopted, born March 18, 1945), and Christine Reagan (born prematurely June 26, 1947 and died the following day).

Following her divorce from Reagan, Wyman married bandleader Frederick M. Karger (1916-1979) on November 1, 1952, and they divorced in December 1955. They later remarried on March 11, 1961, and divorced a second time in 1965. By these marriages, she had a stepdaughter, Terrence (Karger) Melton, by Karger's first marriage to Patti Sacks, an actress.

Wyman never remarried, and after her conversion to Roman Catholicism, both she and her best friend Loretta Young obtained special indults from their bishop to receive communion despite being divorced.

Jane had seven hobbies throughout the prime of her life, including those of: reading, listening to music, philanthropy, collecting CD's, playing piano, and singing. She took up landscape painting in her later years.

Jane Wyman lived in seclusion for a number of years because of declining health. She was rarely seen in public, with the exception of attending the funerals of her daughter, Maureen Reagan, and her close friend Loretta Young. She also attended Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2004.

During her retirement, she purchased a house in Rancho Mirage, California in 1997, so that she could continue living a quiet life and attend honorable charity events. On April 16, 2003, she moved to a retirement home in Palm Springs, California.

Jane Wyman died at the age of 90 at her Palm Springs home on Monday, September 10, 2007, having long suffered from arthritis and diabetes. Wyman's son, Michael Reagan, released a statement saying, "I have lost a loving mother, my children Cameron and Ashley have lost a loving grandmother, my wife Colleen has lost a loving friend she called Mom and Hollywood has lost the classiest lady to ever grace the silver screen."

     Maureen Elizabeth Reagan was born on 4 January 1941. She was the daughter of President Ronald Wilson Reagan and Sarah Jane Mayfield. Maureen Elizabeth Reagan died on 8 August 2001 at Granite Bay, Placer Co., CA, at age 60; malignant melanoma.

GRANITE BAY, Calif. (Reuters) - Maureen Reagan, the colorful and courageous daughter of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and the only one of his four children to follow him into the political spotlight, died on Wednesday after a five-year battle with cancer. She was 60.

Reagan, the daughter of Reagan's first wife actress Jane Wyman, died at her home near Sacramento, surrounded by members of her family, a family statement said.

A sometime actor in television commercials who became a speaker, author and Republican activist unafraid of clashing with the party conservatives her father once embraced, Reagan was first diagnosed with malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, in 1996.

After a period of remission, the cancer returned late last year and spread to several parts of her body including her brain. Last month, after undergoing a final round of radiation treatment at a Sacramento area hospital, she returned home.

The oldest of the four children of the actor-turned-California governor and U.S. president, Reagan grew up in the shadow of her Hollywood parents. Later she became a political analyst, talk show host and public servant in her own right and in recent years -- after her father became too ill with Alzheimer's to make public appearances -- became a passionate advocate and articulate spokeswoman for the Chicago-based Alzheimer's Association.


At the time of President Reagan's death Dennis was a lobbyist in Sacramento, CA, where he owns a public relatins company. He also was a board member of the National Alzheimer's Association.


Revell and Maureen adopted a Ugandan girl, Rita Mirembe. She was abandoned in Kampala, Uganda, at about age 2, and was raised in an orphanage until February 1994 when Dennis and Maureen were granted custody as her guardians. In 2001 President Bush signed into law a bill allowing Rita Mirembe Revell permanent residency n the United States. The bill also allowed her to be adopted by the couple and to be classified as an "immediate relative child."

     Bessie Mae Weaver was born in December 1875 at CT.² She was the daughter of Sterrie A. Weaver and Adah Adaline Holcombe.¹

     Edith A. Sanford was born circa 1866. She married Walter Holcombe, son of Carlos Holcombe and Adah Lavinia Bushnell. Edith A. Sanford died on 10 February 1934 at Torrington, Litchfield Co., CT.¹


From the Courant 11 February 1934:

Mrs. Edith A. Holcomb, wife of State’s Attorney Walter Holcomb, is dead at the family home here after a long period of ill health. She was 68 years old. Death was due to complications.

Mrs. Holcomb was for many years a prominent resident of Torrington and had the distinction of being the only woman to serve in an elective town office here, having been elected a member of the Town Committee in 1921, serving until 1923 when she resigned.

She leaves besides her husband, one son, Attorney Carols S. Holcomb of Hartford and one daughter, Mrs. Adah C. Roberts of Cranford, N.J; one brother Stuart Sanford of Torrington; one sister, Mrs. Alice Smith of Hartford, and three grandchildren.

Private funeral services will be held tomorrow. Burial will be in Southington in the family plot where former Governor Marcus Holcomb is buried.

     Carlos Sanford Holcombe was born on 14 August 1889 at St. Paul, MN.^1,2 He was the son of Walter Holcombe and Edith A. Sanford.¹ Carlos Sanford Holcombe died in January 1966 at age 76.²

Carlos and Olive were enumerated in the 1930 Hartford, Hartford Co., CT, federal census, district 78. He was a trust officer in a bank, age 40, she was 32.

They had just married (her age at first marriage was 32) and he had a previous marriage (his age at first marriage was 27.)

     Hiland Holcombe was born in 1792 at Granby, Hartford Co., CT.¹ He was the son of Joshua P. Holcombe and Sarah Smith.¹

     Albertus P. Case was born on 17 July 1847.¹ He was the son of Denison Case and Sarah Ardelia Searle.¹ Albertus P. Case died on 22 January 1865 at Point Rock, VA, at age 17.¹

Albertus was a Pvt. in Co. C, 1st Ct. Regt. Artillery, in the Civil War. He is listed on the Civil War Monument in Granby.
The Granby Civil War Monument


A complete history of the 16th can be found at: History of the 16th Connecticut Regiment, Volunteer Infantry.

     George R. Gooding was born on 25 August 1852 at Delaware Co., OH.¹ He was the son of George A. Gooding and Elizabeth Carpenter.¹ George R. Gooding died on 8 July 1935 at age 82.¹

     William Thomas Spear was born on 24 January 1865. He married Louise Ellen Holcombe, daughter of Isaac Newton Holcombe and Mary Bojanquit Matteson.¹ William Thomas Spear died on 23 November 1931 at age 66. He was buried at Paxton Cemetery, Paxton, Keith Co., NE.²

     Frank Vancura was also known as Frank Wancura. He married Effie May Holcombe, daughter of Isaac Newton Holcombe and Mary Bojanquit Matteson.¹

     Thomas Holcombe was born on 8 April 1787 at Granby, Hartford Co., CT.¹ He was the son of Noah Holcombe and Tryphena Young.¹ Thomas Holcombe married Jemima Gillett, daughter of Thomas Buckland Gillett and Rhoda Goddard. Thomas Holcombe died before 14 January 1848.^1,2


Thomas, called Thomas Holcombe 2nd in Granby Vital Records, was possibly buried in the West Granby cemetery without a gravestone, he is not in the Sexton's record. (Carol Laun.)²

     Jemima Gillett was born on 21 July 1791 at Salmon Brook (now Granby), Hartford Co., CT.^1,2 She was the daughter of Thomas Buckland Gillett and Rhoda Goddard. Jemima Gillett married Thomas Holcombe, son of Noah Holcombe and Tryphena Young. Jemima Gillett was buried on 1 December 1826 at West Granby Cemetery, Granby, Hartford Co., CT; Noah Holcombe lot.

     Martha Holcombe was born circa 1816.¹ She was the daughter of Thomas Holcombe and Jemima Gillett. Martha Holcombe died on 20 September 1819 at Granby, Hartford Co., CT.¹ She was buried at West Granby Cemetery, Granby, Hartford Co., CT; no stone.¹

     Child Holcombe was the child of Thomas Holcombe and Jemima Gillett. Child Holcombe died on 12 July 1819 at Granby, Hartford Co., CT.¹ Child Holcombe was buried at probably West Granby Cemetery, Granby, Hartford Co., CT; no stone.

     Thomas B. Holcombe was born circa 1820. He was the son of Thomas Holcombe and Jemima Gillett. Thomas B. Holcombe died on 15 March 1863.

Thomas was a Pvt Co. B, 1st Cav Reg Army, enlisted 7 Feb 1859, d. 15 Mar 1863 (CT Men in Civil War - Adj Gen book, page 908) (courtesy Carol Laun).

Thomas' grandfather, Thomas Buckland Gillet's estate was distributed to his widow (2nd wife Mary Hale), the heirs of Thomas Gillet, Jemima Holcomb, and Gideon Gillet. Jemima also inherited land from her deceased mother's dower rights.

Granby Land Records 22-59, 5 Jan 1826 Thomas Holcomb 2nd and Gemima Holcomb sold to Oliver Beach "all buildings that belonged to the late Thomas B. Gillet which fell to said Gemima as heir."

Then Jemima (Gillet) Holcombe died and left two small sons.

Granby Probate Record 5-5 22 Sept 1834 Thomas B. Holcomb minor about 14 chose Silas Cone as guardian. Noah W. Holcomb minor about 10 was assigned Silas Cone as guiadian (CL-he may have actually been 8 years old)

Granby Land Record 20-556, 557 21 Jan 1835 and 30 Mar 1836 silas Cone guardian for Thomas B. Holcomb and Noah W. Holcomb, minors, sold their land.

Granby Probate Record 80234, 250 1846 Thomas Holcomb 2nd died (called Thomas B. Holcomb in records) Noah W. Holcomb administrator and "only surviving heir at law" probate records mention Silas Cone guardian record.

Thomas B. Holcomb is not mentioned in any genealogy, he is not mentioned in any Vital Records, but he did exist. The Probate and Land Records prove that. (Carol Laun, Genealogist-Salmon Brook Historical Society, preliminary investigation, August 2001)

Thomas' name is on the Granby Civil War Monument.
The Granby Civil War Monument.

     Dr. Noah Webster Holcombe was born on 29 March 1826.¹ He was the son of Thomas Holcombe and Jemima Gillett. Dr. Noah Webster Holcombe married Elizabeth Moses, daughter of Daniel Moses and Lydia Amelia Buel, on 28 May 1853.² Dr. Noah Webster Holcombe died on 2 November 1891 at age 65. He was buried at Simsbury Cemetery, Simsbury, Hartford Co., CT.¹

McPherson, page 222.1, lists Noah's birth as 27 March 1826, but Carol Laun notes that Granby Probate Records indicate he was born about 1824.


It was apparently Noah who was listed as"N. Webster Holcomb" in the 1888 Greer's City Directory of Hartford as a Commissioner of Superior Court for Hartford County.


N. Webster and Betsey were enumerated in the 1880 Simsbury, Hartford Co., CT, federal census. He was a physician, age 54; she was 53. There were no children in the household.


Widow Betsey was enumerated in the 1900 Simsbury, Hartford Co., CT, federal census. She was 72, and had never had any children.

     Elizabeth Moses also went by the name of Betsey Moses. She was born on 23 July 1826.¹ She was the daughter of Daniel Moses and Lydia Amelia Buel.¹ Elizabeth Moses married Dr. Noah Webster Holcombe, son of Thomas Holcombe and Jemima Gillett, on 28 May 1853.¹ Elizabeth Moses died on 10 August 1903 at age 77.² She was buried at Simsbury Cemetery, Simsbury, Hartford Co., CT.²