David Ames, who was born May 30, 1749, at Hollis, New Hampshire, married Anna Wright and was a private in the Army of the Revolution. He died in 1799 at Monkton, Addison County, Vermont.
Stephen, his son, was born in Monkton in 1799. Stephen and a brother, Ashley, joined the Army at an early age and Stephen was a gunner in the War of 1812. He married Demis Ferris at Monkton and they later moved to Cleveland, Ohio where they settled on land Stephen had been awarded for serving in the army. He was a wagon-maker by trade, but also farmed. They had eleven children, the oldest being David Frank, who had been born in Vermont, February 8, 1822. David and a brother, Stephen, left Ohio and moved to Allen County, Indiana. On February 21, 1841, they married sisters, Martha and Delila Castleman of Allen County. Both couples moved to Forest City, Iowa and remained there until 1855 when they moved to Cedar County, Nebraska. David served as County Commissioner in 1857-1858 and Justice of Peace 1860-61. He enlisted in Company I, 2nd Regiment of the Nebraska Cavalry and fought the Black Hawk Indians along the Missouri River. While the men were away fighting, the family moved to Iowa for four years.
David and Martha returned in 1867 and settled on a homestead northeast of Meadow Grove, Nebraska. Later they moved into Meadow Grove. They were the parents of six children: Rachel who died at two; Orinda, Christopher who married Harriet Genette Cook of Battle Creek and daughter of Charles Cook and Jane Pettis; Abigail wife of Arthur Lesley Moore; Dimis, wife of William Hopkins of Tilden; and Taffe John who married Nancy Carrico of Meadow Grove. David and Martha remained in Meadow Grove where both died, David in 1893 and Martha in 1897. Christopher, born December 16, 1858, married on December 25, 1882. They farmed and lived between Battle Creek and Meadow Grove, moving in Meadow Grove where he operated a harness shop. They were parents of nine children: Lottie, Jay, Orinda, Aascha, Martha, Pearl, Hugh, Ernest and Marvin.
Source Unknown: Originally submitted for this website in June 2007