Elmer E. Fister - Elmer Fister was adopted

Beth:

I have not taken a DNA test and know of no VBs who have.
I would be willing to help you out by taking one.
Please give me any suggestions as to how to proceed.

I appreciate the detail of your reply. This branch of the Van B(e)uren family is not at all well known to me. I have only recently focused on Sophia.
I tend to investigate Van B(e)urns who lives lasted longer first... Biases such as that often lead to overlooking interesting stories.

Last night I spent multiple hours researching Clarence Van Buren Fister (Elmer's "full brother") who was born five years before Elmer. Looking through Indian War records and California census data has led me to discover that in later life Clarence (and wife) changed his/their surnames to Van Buren (!). During his enlistment with Company C, 8th US Infantry he was known as Clarence VB Fister. One wonders why he changed his name. Was his father unpopular to him? Was it because Rev. Isaac remarried? Does it have anything to do with Rev. Isaac losing his mind? Does it have to do with the Indian Wars? I would live to figure this out.

Clarence married Mary (MNU) after leaving the 8th. He was stationed in Arizona Territory and Nebraska. I've much more work to do on him, of course. After the 8th he joined an Artillery unit stationed in San Francisco... but that tour lasted only two years.

Here is the timeline:

Clarence VB Fister, 8th US Infantry, Indian Wars's Timeline

1856
April 1856
Birth of Clarence
Mt. Vernon, Knox, Ohio, United States

1880
Age 23
1880 Census
Cold Spring, Cattaraugus County, New York, United States
a 23 year-old farmer living in Cold Spring NY (Cattaraugus County) with his father Isaac and step mother..... I might add that it fits that Elmer is not in the household because of adoption, as you say Beth...

1885
Age 28
Enlisted in Cleveland OH
5 ft. 6 inches tall; grey eyes; brown hair; ruddy complexion

1886
July 30, 1886
Age 30
stationed at Fort Grant
Arizona, United States
Arizona was then Arizona Territory:
(some) members of Company C in 1886.
Sgt.Thomas McMenzie
Pvt. Bernhard Kramer (Angel Island Cal. * Germanic name
Pvt. John H. McManus (Angel Island Cal.
Pvt. Johan Pia (Angel Island Cal. * Germanic name
Pvt. John P. Nelson (Angel Island Cal.
Mus. Henry Traband (Angel Island Cal.
Pvt. ? Adelard ? Dediveres (Angel Island Cal.
Pvt. William Fitzgerald (Angel Island Cal.
Pvt. James Lower (Ft. Lowell A.T.)
Sgt. Cyrus J. Dolph
Pvt. Charles L. Day (Ft. Bowie A.T.)
Pvt. Henry Murray (Ft. Bowie A.T.)
Pvt. Virgil G. Williams (Whipple Depot)
Pvt. John Vaughn (Ft. Apache A.T.)
Pvt. Clarence B. Fister (sic) (Ft. Grant A.T.)
Pvt. John Howard (Ft. Grant A.T.)
Pvt. S.J. Harner (Ft. Grant A.T.)
Pvt. Frank H. Waldman (Ft. Grant A.T.)
Pvt. William Aldbaugh (Ft. Grant A.T.) * Germanic name
Pvt. Louis Dahl (Benson A.T.) * Germanic name
Sgt. Harry S. Ogilvie (St. Thomas A.T.)

( I note Germanic names as Clarence's bride's father was from Germany... perhaps Clarence married a war-budgie's widow... (You never know)

November 19, 1886
Age 30
transfer (eventually to Ft. Robinson)
Arizona, United States
"In compliance with G.O. #79 AGO , C Company left Ft. Mojave A.T., Nov. 9th, 1886 and travelled on Steamer "Mojave" to Needles, Cal., distance 35 (sic) miles. Thence to Albuquerque distance 575 miles, thence to La Junta Cal. distance 147 miles. From there to Ft. Robinson Neb., taking station at that place, Nov. 25, 1886, distance 1142 miles. Distance travelled by steamer 25 miles, by railroad 2064 miles. Total Distance 2089 miles. Station per order #146 Dept. of the Platte" ~• from U.S. Returns from Regular Army Infantry Regiments, 1821-1916; 8th Infantry 1883-1892; page 119 of 278

August 31, 1890
Age 34
Discharged from Ft. Robinson Nebrasksa
Nebraska, United States
"excellent character" (at discharge)

1890
Age 33
Marriage of Clarence to Mary Fister (no maiden name known as yet) (no offspring known as yet) (the 1900 census states that as of 1900, Mary had had 10 children and that 7 of them were still alive in 1900) ( Clarence, on the other hand, had had NO children as of 1900)
If you want to look up this census record: Try searching on the lead entry: Mary's son-in-law Meredith Allen born Feb 1870 in Ohio

1892
Age 35
Discharged from US Army
according to one record: Discharged in Nebraska (Fort Robinson) Aug. 31 1890
(see url citation in comment)

1900
Age 43
1900 San Francisco Census
San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, United States
Now married for 10 years, Clarence and Mary lived with her married daughter from Mary's prior marriage. San Francisco 1900 Census: Meredith Allen born Feb 1870 in Ohio

September 16, 1913
Age 57
Death of Clarence
San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, United States

Clarence VB Fister, 8th US Infantry, Indian Wars

Mary E. Van Buren

Adeline Jane Allen

Meridith Allen

June 2, 2017

Hi Beth,

The whole California Follmer/VB/thing has been a fascinating story. Mary E. Follmer had 3 partners and left the first, her first husband John Aborn(s) according to a front page newspaper article I found using Newspapers dot com.

Her second husband seems to have been Jonas Miller, a miner (1832-1889)

If you send me your email I'll send some clippings. It was a long article.

His timeline is filling up with details.

In your files, do you have the record of Clarence VB Fister breaking his arm while at work as a stevedore on the Mission Street wharf in San Francisco?
That's a newspaper piece too. Later in SF, it seems he was charged with taking delivery money from coal accounts while a teamster.... He was arrested.

I am dutifully attaching all these references to his and Mary's profiles on GENi.
I operate the way you do> investigating siblings and offspring to try to find leads.

One last item: Did you know that Clarence's Company C in the 8th US infantry was detailed to gather up the massacred dead of Wounded Knee? By then Clarence had just left C Company and gone to California where he enlisted in the 5th Artillery.

It does not seem that Clarence participated in many skirmishes during the Indian Wars. What have you found?

I am building a project on GENi that follows the significant events of 8th Infantry. I am ignoring Clarence's time served in the 5th Artillery for now.

~• regards,
Mike