The Proeger Family · Generation 6 — Kristin's 3rd-great-grandparents

John W. Orsborn

Grandfather of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr · father of Edna B. Orsborn

John W. Orsborn

Confirmed

Grandfather of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr · father of Edna B. Orsborn

Born
June 1848
Parents
Stephen Osborn & Martha J. Heron
Married
Armenia Howard
Children
Edna B. Orsborn
Sources
11

Research status

Research status: CONFIRMED as Edna B. Orsborn's father — her own 1903 Franklin County, Iowa return of marriages, read from the image, names the bride's father as John W. Orsborn and her mother's maiden name as Armenia Howard S791

Life in the order the records give it

Census
The return spells the surname Orsborn; the family tree spells it Osborn
Birth1848
Born in June 1848 in Ohio, by the 1900 census S974. His death has not been read from a record; the tree's death in 1938 has no source and is not published here as fact
Record1884
FamilySearch agrees: its Iowa county marriages index gives Edna B. Orsborn, born 1884 at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, with parents John W. Orsborn and Armenia Howard S817, and the marriage of Stephen Wood Orsborn, born 1870 in Hamilton County, Ohio, names his parents as John Orsborn and Armenia Howard S818
Census1900
🆕 In 1900 John Orsborn, born in June 1848 in Ohio, lived in Yates Township, McLean County, Illinois, with his wife Minnie, born April 1848 in Indiana; they had been married 30 years Confirmed S974. His son Stephen Wood Orsborne's 1925 Iowa death certificate names his parents as John Wood Orsborne, born Ohio, and Armenia Howard; the middle name Wood is on that certificate alone, given by Stephen's wife Confirmed S973. added 29 September 2026
Census1880
🆕 In 1880 Jno. W. Osborn, 32, a laborer born in Ohio, lived at Greendale, Dearborn County, Indiana, with his wife Minnie, 32, born Indiana, and their son Stephen, 9, born Ohio Confirmed S980. In 1870 a John Osborn, 22, laborer, born Ohio, was in Miller Township, Dearborn County, with Minnie, 22, and Charles, five months old, born in January 1870 Probable confirm or correct → S981. Evidence: the names, ages, birthplaces and county fit 1880. Weak: the 1870 census states no relationships. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026
Census1860
🆕 The same family in 1860, probably: a John, 12, born Ohio, was in the household of Stephen Osborn, 38, farmer, and Jane, 31, in Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, with a brother Stephen A., 1 Probable confirm or correct → S1048. Evidence: name, age, birthplace, and a township next to Dearborn County, Indiana. Weak: one census, no relationships stated, and the wife is Jane, not Martha. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026
Census1850
🆕 Earlier still: in August 1850 a John, 2, was in the Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, household of Stephen Osborn, 27, and Martha, 20, with a sister Mary, 4 months; an older John and Eliza Osborn, both 58, lived next door Confirmed S1053. That household is his parents’: the 1921 application names them S1075. added 29 September 2026

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Children1903
Father of Edna B. Orsborn, 19, born at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, who married Benjamin Peters at Alexander, Franklin County, Iowa, on 1 April 1903 S791; and so grandfather of Benjamin LaRoy “Pete” Peters Sr.. Husband of Armenia Howard. See the Peters–Hermann line
Parents1921
🆕 His parents are Confirmed: his own marriage-licence application, sworn at Dearborn County, Indiana, on 9 August 1921 for his third marriage, to Nannie Johnson, and read from the image, gives his birth as 1 June 1848 at Cleves, Ohio, and names his father Stephen Osborn, born Ohio, and his mother’s maiden name as Martha J. Heron Confirmed S1075. Both now have cards: Stephen Osborn and Martha J. Heron. added 30 September 2026

Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it

Probable
🆕 Probably remarried: in April 1910 a John Osborn, 61, born Ohio, was at Lawrenceburg Township, Dearborn County, with a wife Margaret, 56, who had borne no children, and a son Charles, 15, born Illinois to an Indiana-born mother Probable confirm or correct → S1054. Evidence: name, age, Ohio birth and Lawrenceburg, Edna’s birthplace. Weak: the faint marital column is the only sign of a second marriage, and no record gives Armenia’s death. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026

In the record Generation 6 — Kristin's 3rd-great-grandparents

John W. Orsborn · Sources

Citations

Sources cited on this card

11 of the record's sources are cited here. The numbering is the record's own; the full list, with where else each is cited, is at Sources.

  1. S791Franklin County, Iowa, return of marriages 1903, licence 1501: Benjamin Peters and Edna B. Orsborn. Ancestry record 903647093. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 26 September 2026. Confirmed Benjamin Peters, 22, born Cedar Falls, farmer of Alexander, son of John Peters and Sophia Hermann, married Edna B. Orsborn, 19, born Lawrenceburg, Indiana, daughter of John W. Orsborn and Armenia Howard, at Alexander on 1 April 1903, by J. C. Shirk, M.G.; witnesses Ray and Nettie Pence. The site had this marriage from a transcript; this is the image of the return. Collection: Iowa, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880–1950.
  2. S817FamilySearch, Iowa County Marriages — Edna B. Orsborn, 1903. FamilySearch ark:/61903/1:1:KC4H-R3B (and ark:/61903/1:1:KCWX-1TV), checked 28 September 2026. Probable Edna B. Orsborn, born 1884 at Lawrenceburg, Indiana; parents John W. Orsborn and Armenia Howard. Index entry for the same marriage as S791; the image was not examined here. Collection: Iowa, County Marriages.
  3. S818Franklin County, Iowa return of marriages, 1902, no. 1437 — Stephen Wood Orsborn and Carrie Cornelia Douglas. Ancestry record 1203454751. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026; first cited from FamilySearch ark:/61903/1:1:KC4H-Y58. Confirmed Stephen Wood Orsborn, 32, druggist, of Alexander, born Hamilton County, Ohio, his second marriage; parents John Orsborn and Armenia Howard. He married Carrie Cornelia Douglas, 22, daughter of Frank Douglas and Emma Lukey, at Alexander on 12 November 1902. The index's birth year 1870 is worked from his age; his 1925 death certificate gives 16 February 1871 (S973). His first wife is not known.
  4. S973Iowa death certificate no. 35-515 — Stephen Wood Orsborne, Hampton, Franklin County, 1925. Ancestry record 750071384. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026. Confirmed Stephen Wood Orsborne, born 16 February 1871 in Ohio, died at Hampton, Iowa, on 9 January 1925. Father John Wood Orsborne, born Ohio; mother Armenia Howard, born Ohio. The informant was Mrs. S. W. Orsborne. This is the first record read that gives John's middle name, Wood; it rests on this certificate alone, whose informant was his daughter-in-law. It gives Armenia's birthplace as Ohio; the censuses of the household give Indiana. Image 101784529_00581.
  5. S9741900 U.S. census — Yates Township, McLean County, Illinois, ED 123, dwelling 133. Ancestry record 37028834. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026. Confirmed John Orsborn, born June 1848 in Ohio, and his wife Minnie, born April 1848 in Indiana, married 30 years; she was the mother of eight children, six living. The census does not give the wife's full name. That “Minnie” is Armenia Howard is inferred, not stated: the ages, birthplaces and the 1870 marriage fit, and the Orsborn spelling matches Edna's 1903 marriage (S791), but no record read gives her both names. Image 4113782_00248.
  6. S9801880 U.S. census — Greendale, Lawrenceburgh Township, Dearborn County, Indiana, ED 47, page 3, 16 June 1880. Ancestry record 18949604. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026. Confirmed Jno. W. Osborn, 32, laborer, born Ohio; Minnie, 32, his wife, born Indiana; and Stephen, 9, their son, born Ohio. Stephen, 9, born Ohio, fits Stephen Wood Orsborne, born 16 February 1871 in Ohio (S973), and Lawrenceburg is his sister Edna's birthplace (S791). The census does not give the wife's full name; that “Minnie” is Armenia Howard is inferred, not stated. Image 4240580-00296.
  7. S9811870 U.S. census — Miller Township, Dearborn County, Indiana, page 22, 9 July 1870, dwelling 133. Ancestry record 19206289. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026. Probable John Osborn, 22, laborer, born Ohio; Minnie, 22, born Indiana; and Charles, five months old, born in January 1870 in Indiana. The 1870 census states no relationships. The names, ages, birthplaces and county fit the Orsborn household of 1880 (S980) and 1900 (S974). Charles is not in the 1880 household, so he probably died young; with him the 1900 count of eight children born fits. That is inferred, not recorded.
  8. S10481860 United States Federal Census — Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, page 55, dwelling 394. Ancestry record 42826535. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Probable 13 July 1860: Stephen Osborn, 38, farmer, born Ohio; Jane, 31; John, 12, at school; Mary E., 11; Emma, 8; Joseph, 4; Stephen A., 1; all born Ohio. The 1860 census states no relationships; this is John W. Orsborn’s probable childhood household by name, age and place (Whitewater Township borders Dearborn County, Indiana).
  9. S10531850 United States Federal Census — Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, dwelling 196. Ancestry record 15899233. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Probable 30 August 1850: Stephen Osborn, 27, laborer; Martha, 20; John, 2; Mary, 4 months; all born Ohio. Next door, dwelling 197: John Osborn, 58, farmer, born New Jersey, and Eliza, 58, born New York. The 1850 census states no relationships. Stephen’s age and the children John and Mary fit the 1860 Whitewater household (S1048), but the wife is “Martha”, 20, here and “Jane”, 31, in 1860: one woman (Martha Jane?) or a second wife, unresolved.
  10. S10541910 United States Federal Census — Lawrenceburg Township, Dearborn County, Indiana, E.D. 46, sheet 11A, dwelling 231. Ancestry record 6295392. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Probable April 1910: John Osborn, 61, head, born Ohio, parents born Ohio, farm laborer, owns his house; Margaret, wife, 56, born Ohio of Irish parents, no children born; Charles, son, 15, born Illinois, father born Ohio, mother born Indiana. The marital column is faint: it seems to read a second marriage of about one year. The tie to John W. Orsborn is by name, age, Ohio birth and Lawrenceburg; nothing on the page names Armenia or states when she died.
  11. S1075Indiana marriage-licence application (male), Dearborn County, register pp. 448–449 — John W. Osborn and Nannie Johnson, sworn 9 August 1921. FamilySearch Indiana, Marriages, 1811–2019, index 1:1:XXY9-DX6, image 3:1:S3HY-6FH4-V8. Image examined, read 30 September 2026. Confirmed John W. Osborn, of Homestead, Indiana, retired, born June 1st 1848 at Cleves, O.; full name of father Stephen Osborn, white, born Ohio, deceased; full maiden name of mother Martha J. Heron, white, deceased; his third marriage, the previous one dissolved by death in 1918; signed by mark, before James G. McKinney, clerk. The groom is Edna B. Orsborn’s father: the birth month and state match the 1900 census [S974], Dearborn County is where the family was in 1880 [S980], and a son Stephen, named for this grandfather, is in that household. No conflicting parents were found in a FamilySearch search for the same man.

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Compiled for the Proeger family

Living adults appear by name and relationship, with the year only: no full date of birth and no home town on any page that search engines index, and a living person’s own page is kept out of search engines. Minors appear by name only — no date of birth, no birth year, no age, no school, no place, no address, no other identifying detail. A minor may be named and may appear in a family photograph; nothing further about them is published. Where it is not established whether someone is an adult or a minor, the minor rule applies.

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